


Doing a Big Thing Badly

by Alanine



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant (Mostly), Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, POV Garrus Vakarian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2019-06-23 15:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 51,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15608961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alanine/pseuds/Alanine
Summary: A mostly canon-compliant, somewhat abbreviated, definitely self-indulgent re-telling of Mass Effect 2 from Garrus' perspective.As a Spacer Sole Survivor, it was always hard for my Shepard to swallow working for Cerberus in any capacity. (Never forget Kohaku!) Very canon-compliant. Possibly TOO canon-compliant, with lots of dialogue from the game. Deviates from cannon in the areas where I wish Shepard had gotten to say more critical things, to fight with the people who hung her out to dry, some in-between scenes that seemed fun, and some larger deviations in the romance progression to amp up the drama.Hat tip to Aaron Sorkin, since I blatantly stole all the chapter titles from episodes of his shows.





	1. La Forza del Destino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of the line for Garrus on Omega until a most unexpected person from his past comes to save the day.

Garrus knew he’d done some pretty stupid things in his life and pissing off every gang of mercenaries in the Terminus Systems should have topped the list. It said a lot about his life that it didn’t. Top five, though, _maybe_. Garrus sighted down his scope and picked off the latest wave of idiots to try crossing the bridge that lead into the base. He’d been able to defend this position for far longer than the mercs below had anticipated, but both sides knew he couldn’t continue indefinitely. He was only one turian, and he was beginning to tire. And the longer this went on, the more time they had to bring in reinforcements. He could see that the people beginning to mass behind the barricades no longer strictly wore the uniforms of the Blue Suns, Blood Pack, or Eclipse mercenary bands. They were a mismatched, disorganized mess.

_Damn, they’ve brought in freelancers._

Garrus rolled his head back on his neck, working the stiffening muscles. Omega had an essentially unlimited supply of freelance mercenaries that the groups attacking him could drawn upon. There was no hope he’d be able to whittle down their numbers. With the freelancers protecting their regular troops the merc bands weren’t going to get demoralized and give up. Each freelancer he killed was just someone they wouldn’t have to waste credits on.

Well, he supposed there were worse ways to go. He would kill as many mercenaries as he could, get some small measure of vengeance for his murdered squad. It wasn’t enough. They deserved better. But he would leave his mark. He’d strike one last blow against the gangs of Omega.

Garrus lifted his sniper rifle and used the scope to take a closer look at the activity behind the barrier, trying to get a sense of what the mercenaries were planning. His interest sharpened when amid the jostling crowd of freelancers he spotted a trio of humans who were clearly a cut above the rest. They stood out not just because their equipment was obviously of a much higher quality than the usual Omega riff raff could afford, but his experienced eye also noted the way they moved. They seemed a little on edge, their postures were already defensive. They strode through the press of freelancers, two of them loosely ranged around the third figure in a wedge configuration. The two on the flanks were subtly guarding the third. With so many mercs around who’d normally be at each other’s throats it was probably smart. So they had training, probably former military.

Smart, trained, and visibly well-armed. These three were trouble. It’d be best if he could take them down before they left the nominal protection of the barricades the mercs had built. They’d stationed vorcha and other expendable mercs there to keep him busy between assaults on the bridge. There was a narrow gap open to his fire though, and these three were heading towards it.

Garrus edged out to prepare a shot. One was a tall, dark-skinned man and the other a pale, dark-haired woman. They were wearing black and white armor that had the look of a uniform, but one he didn’t recognize. That was interesting. Garrus was familiar with the vast array of equipment available in the Terminus Systems and Citadel space, but this armor didn’t look like any of it. It was too high-quality to be home-made. Private fabricator? Maybe they were a smaller detachment of a larger mercenary group. Except the woman at the center of their wedge was wearing black armor of a different manufacture than the other two. Looked like it was from an older Hahne-Kedar line. She turned to speak to one of her squad and he saw the distinctive red and white stripes that ran the length of her right arm and his stomach tightened. He was very familiar with _that_ marking. A trio of freelancers lead by a former N7 would be incredibly dangerous.

Her face was turned away, but she hadn’t donned a helmet and his eye was drawn to the color. It was red; a rare genetic strain for humans.

The buzz of a bullet hitting his kinetic barrier made him realize he’d leaned a little too far out of concealment and he ducked back behind his makeshift barrier. Garrus rapped his helmet hard against the wall. He needed to focus. How long had he been staring? That hadn’t happened for awhile.

He must be _really_   tired.

It had taken a long time before he’d stopped freezing every time he caught a glimpse of red hair in a crowd. A long time before he’d stopped having that split-second, crazy thought that Shepard wasn’t really dead. After everything they’d been through together, it was hard to believe anything could kill her. Maybe if he’d been on the Normandy when it had been destroyed it would have seemed real. He _should_ have been there. Going back to C-Sec had been a waste of time. And it had kept going downhill from there. That’s how he’d ended up here on Omega. How he’d ended up with a dead squad and cornered by mercenaries. Another failure on his mounting list of failures. If he’d been with his squad when the mercs had come for them, he could have saved them. If he’d been on the Normandy.. maybe Shepard wouldn’t have died.

Facing certain death had a way of making a man think about all the things that’d brought him there. Well, he didn’t have time for some woman’s resemblance to his dead Commander to rattle him. He swapped in a fresh thermal clip and lifted his rifle again with weary arms. Once more unto the breach.

When he looked through the scope again, he was surprised to see the red-haired freelancer was planted squarely in the center of his field of fire, like a dare. He knew he’d be little more than blurry figure in armor to her unaugmented eyes, but he still felt the weight of her gaze. A funny little shock went through him.

Red hair, green eyes and her face.. more scars than he remembered. Kind of a lot of scars. But the shape of her face was the one he remembered. Turians didn’t believe in ghosts. Spirits, yes, but that wasn’t the same thing. Was he hallucinating? Just how tired _was_ he?

He felt his digit easing off of the trigger of it’s own volition. He knew he shouldn’t believe it. She’d been dead for two years. Still, he couldn’t stop the painful prick of hope. He’d looked for her around every corner, everywhere he’d been. She showed up _now_? Actually, no, it would be exactly like her to show up now.

If he wasn’t crazy and that really was Shepard, what the hell had she been doing for two years? And why was she here on Omega with a mercenary band? Shepard was born and bred Alliance. Even after the Council screwed her over about the Reapers, and the Alliance helped them with the coverup by sending her off to deal with the rest of the Geth, she hadn’t complained. Well, not officially. She’d had plenty of choice words for the decision where only the rest of her team could hear her. But she’d followed her orders. And he’d thought she’d died for her trouble. Had she been alive all this time, but in hiding? Was she on some secret Spectre mission? The destruction of the Normandy could have been an elaborate ruse by the Council. No.. They wouldn’t throw away such an important asset just to provide Shepard a way to go dark. She couldn’t know who Archangel was. He’d covered his tracks too well. She wasn’t here looking for him.

Something didn’t add up. Maybe she was just what she seemed: a merc on a job. Maybe she’d finally gotten sick of the Citadel’s crap too. But he couldn’t bring himself to really believe that, either. Even disaffected, Shepard wouldn’t help these mercs. She was still wearing her N7 armor. He thought about their wary glances, directed not at his base, but at the other mercs.

If she wasn’t here to kill Archangel, she might be here to _help_ Archangel.

Experimentally, he cycled his ammo to concussive rounds and fired just to the right of her head. Shepard’s kinetic barriers flared with a bright burst of static as they collapsed from the force of the projectile. He waited a few seconds longer than he normally would to duck back into cover and waited for her reaction. The two vorcha on the barricades fired immediately, but were such piss poor shots they missed by a mile.

Shepard didn’t flinch or reach for a weapon. She just stood there. Letting him _see_ she wasn’t reaching for a weapon. Sending a message?

In reply, Garrus neatly shot both of the vorcha standing near her.

He barely caught the smirk on her face as she made a show of taking cover behind the barricades. Message received? He really hoped he wasn’t wrong.

 

* * *

 

 

For awhile, nothing changed. It was the same stalemate it had been most of the day. Garrus was starting to think Shepard had been a hallucination after all, when a large group of freelancers vaulted over the barricades. Whatever they had been waiting for was about to happen. He took a few of them down before ducking again to dodge the grenade fire overhead. From below he heard screams of pain that he knew weren’t from the mercs he’d just killed. He peeked over the edge of the window to see two mercs floating in the air, flailing their arms and legs in the grasp of someone’s biotics. Then a blurred figure streaked down the bridge to knock over one of the mercs who was attempting to mount the stairs. There was a thudding shockwave of biotic power and the floating mercenaries were slammed into the wall.

“Hey, they’re with Archangel!”

“Kill them!”

Garrus felt a fierce joy well up inside of him, his fatigue momentarily banished. He didn’t have time to celebrate, more mercenaries were storming the bridge. He had to keep them off of Shepard’s back until she could reach him. By the sounds coming from downstairs, she was taking care of more mercs than he’d seen cross the bridge. Damn, had he let someone slip past?

Garrus let the two humans in the black and white armor cross the bridge behind Shepard before he opened fire again. As they ran by he caught the yellow insignia on the man’s uniform and felt a pang of unease. Cerberus. What by all the spirits was Shepard doing crewing with Cerberus?

It wasn’t long before it grew quiet once more and the door next to him hissed open. He kept his eye on the last of the mercenaries below, but he could hear her footsteps growing closer.

“Archangel?”

Garrus had his scope trained on the final straggler below who was hiding behind a pillar. He didn't turn to look at her, but the familiar voice washed over him like a balm. He held up a hand in a gesture for her to wait a moment, then squeezed the trigger when the mercenary stuck his head out of cover. Scratched that one. The bridge was clear again, at least for now.

He propped his rifle up on a nearby crate and eased himself into a sitting position. With the immediate danger passed the fatigue pressed on him again. He regarded her from behind his visor. She regarded him in turn, her expression one of professional, wary appraisal. It really was Shepard. Up close the scars looked worse than he’d expected. The edges were ragged and red. Too fresh to be from two years ago, that was odd. He had so many questions, but at the moment, only one thing really mattered to him.

"Shepard, I thought you were dead."

He took off his helmet and watched the wariness on her face melt into a surprised smile.

"Garrus!” She lifted her arms and for a second it looked like she would hug him. Instead she asked, “What are you doing here?"

He saw an echo of his own relief mirrored in her expression which struck him as odd. So she hadn’t known who Archangel was, but who had she been expecting to find? He didn’t fail to notice the flicker of annoyance that passed over the Cerberus woman’s face when Shepard recognized him. He filed both of those facts away for later.

"Just keeping my skills sharp,” he replied, “A little target practice."

Shepard’s mouth twisted briefly, her smile becoming sardonic. “You okay?”

"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work, especially on my own."

Shepard chuckled. "How did you manage to piss off every major merc organization in the Terminus systems?"

"It wasn’t easy, I really had to work at it,” he drawled. “I am amazed that they teamed up to fight me, they must _really_ hate me.”

Shepard just shook her head slightly. “What are you doing out here on Omega?” she asked.

“I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. Figured I could do more good on my own. At least it’s not hard to find criminals here, all I have to do is point my gun and shoot.”

She rubbed one ear and said, “You nailed _me_ pretty good, by the way.”

“Concussive rounds only, no harm done.” He tried to sound innocent. “Didn’t want the mercs getting suspicious.”

Shepard folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Uh huh.”

“If I’d wanted to do more than take your shields down, I’d have done it,” he pointed out reasonably. “Besides, you were taking your sweet time. I needed to get you moving.”

Shepard dropped her arms at that and turned serious. “Well we got here but I don’t think getting out will be as easy.

“No, it won’t.” Garrus stood and walked to the window again. Shepard fell in next to him and looked when Garrus pointed to the bridge spanning the gap between his base and the mercenary barricades. “That bridge has saved my life, funneling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They’ll slaughter us if we try to get out that way.”

Shepard’s companions had been watching them speak silently. Now the dark-haired woman interrupted, “So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?”

Garrus shrugged again, “It’s not all that bad. This place has held them off so far. And with three of you..” He trailed off as he ran through a mental inventory of his assets and what he knew about the mercs. The three of them gave him more options, but not as many as he would like.

“I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, then take our chances. It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s a plan.”

“How’d you let yourself get into this position?” Shepard asked, a disapproving frown on her face.

“My feelings got in the way of my better judgment,” he admitted, shifting uncomfortably under Shepard’s censure. “It’s a long story.”

He glanced from her to the two Cerberus agents. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said, “You get me out of here alive and I’ll tell you the whole damn thing.”

Shepard nodded. “Deal. I didn’t like sneaking anyway. Time to spill a little merc blood.”

“Glad to see you haven’t changed. Let’s see what they’re up to.”

Garrus lifted his rifle and looked through the scope at the mercenaries. A group of LOKI mechs were starting to climb over the barricades.

Garrus said, “Looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look.” He handed his rifle to Shepard. “Scouts. Eclipse, I think.”

Shepard hefted the sniper rifle to her shoulder and looked. She squeezed the trigger and the mech furthest along the bridge exploded in a shower of sparks and shrapnel.

Shepard handed back the rifle, her mouth quirked in a half-smile. “More than scouts, one less now though.”

“Indeed. We better get ready. I’ll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You? You can do what you do best.”

Garrus looked at her. Standing here with her, assessing a tactical situation, it felt so natural. Like no time had passed at all.

“Just like old times, Shepard,” he said and grinned at her.

Shepard grinned too, but it faded when she turned to look at her squad. “Not exactly.”

Garrus noticed her reaction and cleared his throat. “I saw the Cerberus uniforms. I guess we both have stories to tell.”

Shepard grimaced and made belated introductions, “Jacob Taylor, Miranda Lawson, meet Garrus Vakarian. We’ll hold the bridge, keep them in his line of sight, and he’ll cover us from up here.”

Miranda frowned, obviously not pleased with the plan. She looked from Garrus to Shepard, then exchanged glances with Jacob, who just shook his head wordlessly at her and turned to obey Shepard’s orders. After a few moments, she did the same. Shepard turned back to Garrus and he hefted his rifle to his shoulder.

“Let’s give these bastards everything we’ve got.”

Shepard smiled again, more subdued this time, then went down to the ground floor of the base. He knew she was at her best fighting up close. Sometimes it was terrifying watching her charge straight into a group of enemies, but she always seemed fearless. He liked that about her, but he preferred to keep a rifle scope between himself and his enemies.

The Eclipse mercs were dispatched quickly with the four of them working in concert. Miranda and Jacob were excellent operatives and the Eclipse were no match for a group with three biotically gifted humans. Miranda deftly overloaded mechs and warped targets that Jacob would detonate. They were a very practiced pair. Shepard charged any group that made it onto the bridge, the collisions throwing her opponents back into the barricades. The one moment of concern came when a huge YMIR mech had thundered onto the bridge.

Garrus shouted down to Shepard, “They’re bringing out the heavy mechs, watch yourself.

Shepard yelled back cryptically, “That problem should take care of itself.

He heard her laugh over the comms when it immediately turned and began to fire on the other mercenaries and he chuckled along with her. So she had done a little sabotage during her time as a freelancer. Excellent.

Eventually the Eclipse leader, Jaroth, came out to fight them himself, but by then they had eliminated most of his mercs. He never stood a chance. Shepard charged him, a blur of speed and glowing biotic power as she phased through the obstacles between them and sent him flying. Jaroth lay on the ground, his armor broken, still stunned, as Shepard drew her pistol and shot him point blank. Killing mercs wasn’t a pretty business.

Shepard and her team fell back to the upper level again regroup and swap thermal clips.

“You’re kicking ass, Shepard,” Garrus told her. “They barely touched me. And we got Jaroth in the process. I’ve been hunting that little bastard for months.”

Shepard replied, “We still have Blood Pack and Blue Suns out there. Think we can make a break for it?”

“Maybe. Let’s see what they’re up to.”

He and Shepard both took turns peering through his scope. “They’ve reinforced the other side heavily. What are they up to?”

They all looked around when an alarm split the air.

Miranda exclaimed, “What the hell was that?”

Garrus cursed, “Dammit! They breached the lower level.” He signed resignedly, “Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You’d better get down there Shepard, I’ll keep the bridge clear.”

Shepard was adamant. “I didn’t come all this way to let you die. We’ll split up two and two. Keep one of my team here.”

“You sure? Who knows what you’ll find down there.”

Shepard nodded firmly, then jerked her head at Jacob. “Jacob, stay with Garrus. Keep him alive.”

“If you say so. I’m not so sure it’s a good idea...”

Shepard gave him a stern look that brooked no arguments.

Garrus said gratefully, “Thanks Shepard. You better get going. Go down a level, the basement doors are on the west side of the main room behind the stairs. I’ll radio directions if you get lost but you better get down there quick.”

Shepard nodded briskly. “We’re on our way.”

Shepard ushered Miranda downstairs, leaving Garrus alone with Jacob. Garrus eyed him thoughtfully, but there wasn’t time for conversation, the Blood Pack had taken the field. Vorcha accompanied by varren war beasts began to make a push down the bridge. Garrus snorted in disgust. He hated vorcha, and vorcha trained to be fighters by the Blood Pack were the worst kind of vorcha. They were ferocious fighters and utterly fearless. He and Jacob took up positions in the window. Garrus couldn’t partner with Jacob’s biotics the way Miranda and Shepard had, but the man turned out to be equally proficient with firearms. Jacob was able to provide cover fire while Garrus sniped, and when the enemies tried to squeeze past the narrowest section of bridge, Jacob could use his biotics to pull the entire group off their feet and send them spinning through the air.

Garrus radioed Shepard to report, “There’s not too many, yet. There’s a console near the shutters that should shut them, keep any more of the Blood Pack from coming in.”

Shepard’s voice was staticky, “We’ve reached the first set of shutters but there are a lot of vorcha down here.”

Over the comm, Garrus was able to hear Shepard’s progress to the second set of shutters through the lower basement. It was easy to get turned around in the cramped basement passages, and Shepard had a shockingly bad sense of direction for someone so skilled in every other aspect of warfare. She and Garrus exchanged snarky, breathless jabs at one another during breaks in the fighting.

“Honestly Shepard, how hard could it be to find a console with a big blinking light on it in a dark basement?”

“I dunno Garrus, maybe you’d like to switch places.”

“No thanks, you know I’m afraid of the dark.”

“And I’m afraid of vorcha with flamethrowers, yet here I am.”

“That’s why they pay you the big bucks, Commander.”

“I’m getting paid for this?”

Garrus and Jacob were handling the vorcha with ease, but when the Krogan troops started to emerge Garrus knew he needed to get Shepard back up here soon. He ducked behind the wall to avoid the incendiary blast one of the Krogan sent towards him. He glanced at Jacob and saw the man popping the thermal clip from his pistol.

“We’re not going be able to keep those Krogan on the bridge for long,” he said, grimly.

Garrus spoke into his radio, “I’m going to need some help soon, Shepard, they’re getting more aggressive. Have you closed those shutters yet?”

“Workin’ on it, I just need to close the garage shutters.”

“Well hurry up.” Garrus had to duck again to avoid another volley of weapons fire. “I can’t keep up.”

By concentrating their fire on one Krogan at a time, Garrus and Jacob were able to pierce their armor and take out a few, but it meant letting others slip past them into the lower levels. They gave up their position in the window and ran to take cover near the top of the stairs. Garrus could see the glow and hear the fizz of a laser torch cutting through his doors.

“Get back here, Shepard! They’re coming in the doors.”

He turned to see Jacob holstering his heavy pistol and slapping a fresh thermal clip into his shotgun. The metal door groaned as it was levered open and Garm, the huge Krogan Battlemaster who led the Blood Pack, barreled through the opening and roared, “Rip them to shreds!”

Garrus downed the vorcha standing next to Garm with a single shot to the head.

Garm growled to his remaining men, “Watch my back, I’ll deal with Archangel.”

Garrus was lining up a shot on one of the other vorcha when it crumpled to the floor. Shepard strode cautiously into the room, her pistol trained on the huge Krogan. Garm ignored her and stormed up the stairs towards Garrus while the rest of his vorcha and varren swarmed Shepard and her team. Garrus made the tactical decision to retreat to someplace he could put a door between himself and the enraged Krogan. Maybe it would buy Shepard a little time to work through the other mercs.

Garm battered down the door in short order and was about to charge Garrus when a shockwave blast behind made him stumble. He turned his head only to end up having the butt of Shepard’s pistol slam into his face with the force of her biotics behind it. Garm roared with pain but kept his feet. Garrus took advantage of the distraction to fire incendiary rounds and set Garm’s armor on fire. The Krogan reeled but still managed to strike Shepard hard enough to send her skidding across the room. Jacob and Miranda had taken up positions inside the room behind couches and as Shepard went down, Miranda emerged to throw a warp field at Garm, finally breaking what was left of his armor. Jacob used his biotics to detonate Miranda’s warp field, hurling Garm to the floor, unable to dodge the short range blow Jacob delivered with his shotgun. Garm stayed down.

Shepard got to her feet, slightly woozy, and picked her way through the debris to Garrus’ side. She was breathing heavily but was in very reasonable shape given the circumstances. No one sane went after a Krogan with her fists.

Garrus was breathing heavily himself but he still managed to joke. “Tough bastards, but I’ve seen worse.”

Shepard just gave him that look she gave him when she was done humoring him.

Garrus ignored the look, as he always had. “Hey, we took out Garm and his Blood Pack. I get to make a few jokes. This day just gets better and better. He was one tough son of a bitch.”

“You’ve fought with him before?”

Garrus shrugged dismissively, “Yeah we tangled once. Caught him alone, none of his gang to help him.” An edge of irritation crept into his voice when he continued, “Still couldn’t take him out. I’ve never seen a Krogan regen that fast, he’s a freak of nature. He just kept at it til his vorcha showed up. It was close but I had to let him go. Not this time.” Letting him go before had been the smart move, Garrus knew when to cut his losses, but it had burned. He was very gratified to have gotten him this time around.

Shepard winced as she flexed her fist and said, “Only the Blue Suns left. I say we take our chances and fight our way out.”

“I think you’re right,” Garrus agreed. “Tarok’s got the strongest group but nothing we haven’t seen before. Besides, he won’t be expecting us to face him head..” He was interrupted by the glass windows of the second story exploding inward and showering them with shards. Outside the ruined windows a gunship with the Blue Suns logo painted on it hovered outside, the roar of its engines vibrating the air.

Garrus swore, “Dammit! I thought I took that thing out already!”

Shepard shouted over the noise, “They fixed it, but not completely. I made sure of that.”

They all dove for cover as a team of Blue Suns swung from the open doors of the gunship and in through the shattered window. The Blue Suns lieutenant, Jentha, was at the head of the strike team. She and her troops immediately opened fire, pinning the four of them in their cover while her team ranged out into the room. The gunship swung around the side of the building and out of sight, but shortly after a crash was heard downstairs.

Garrus shouted, “They’re repelling down the side wall, ground floor.”

“A little busy right now, Garrus.”

Shepard was lying prone on the floor, her hands gripping her pistol, propped up on elbows braced in front of her. She dragged herself to the edge of the overturned metal table shielding her and twisted out from behind it to expertly shoot several of the Blue Suns through their ankles. They dropped to the ground screaming and Shepard rattled them with a shockwave, knocking their weapons from their hands. The rest of the mercs turned to focus on Shepard as she rolled back into cover and Garrus took that as his cue to emerge and quickly take out the troops still writhing on the ground. Garrus heard footsteps pounding up the rear stairs. Hearing it too, Shepard pulled herself up into a crouch and she jerked her head at Jacob and Miranda. “You two, cover the stairs.” Shepard popped up from behind the table and fired at the Blue Suns to cover Miranda and Jacob as they moved into position. Garrus killed the last of the batarians with Jentha while Shepard peppered Jentha’s kinetic shield with rapid fire shots. When the barrier finally overloaded from the strain, Shepard threw herself at Jentha and grappled with the other woman. Garrus couldn’t get a bead on Jentha with the way the two lurched around, each trying to get leverage over the other. Shepard slammed Jentha up against the broken window, bending her backwards over the gap. Jentha elbowed Shepard in the face and she momentarily lost her grip. Jentha levered herself back into a standing position and tried to draw a gun but Shepard kicked her hand and knocked the gun flying. Garrus fired a concussive round at the adjacent wall. The explosion knocked Shepard to the ground and Jentha was thrown out the window.

Garrus started to move towards the fallen Shepard but spun when he heard the hum of the gunship returning to the window on the other side and Tarok bellowing, “ARCHANGEL!”

Garrus brought up his gun but was too slow to avoid the spray of bullets Tarok sent through the window. He fell as the bullets ripped through his armor and thudded painfully into the arm and leg on his left side. Garrus dragged himself agonizingly behind a nearby planter as Tarok continued to rain bullets into the room, shrieking at him, “You think you can take on the Blue Suns? This ends now!”

Garrus pressed his back up against the planter and tried to look around it to get his bearings, but as he did Tarok fired a rocket into the room. The world went red and Garrus felt a searing heat consume him. The pain was unbearable. He heard Shepard scream, “Garrus!” before he blacked out.

 

* * *

 

 

“Garrus? Garrus!”

He could hear Shepard screaming at him as he flickered back into consciousness, but the sound was muted, she sounded like she was far away. The agony of his burned face made him really wish Shepard had let him _stay_ unconsciousness. Someone started to roll him onto his back and he screamed in pain. Or he tried to, at any rate. It came out as a breathy gurgle, his lungs were filling up with fluid. They let him go then and he tried to open his eyes. The world had narrowed to the pain he felt and the blurry outline of the sniper rifle that had fallen by his head. He reached out and curled his fingers around it, but the effort was too much. He coughed and gasped for breath.

Shepard tried to keep him awake, she nearly pleaded with him, “Hold on, Garrus. We’re getting you out of here. Hold on!” Her voice hardened when she turned to Jacob and said, “Radio Joker, make sure they’re ready for us.”

He heard Jacob say, “We better hurry, he looks bad.”

Garrus locked eyes with Shepard, trying to stay awake, trying obey her command. She’d torn the targeting sight from her head and he saw a smear of his blood along one cheek, the blue stark against her pale skin. He felt her gently pry the gun from his grip and he relaxed and let her take it, trusting her with it. He was losing the battle with the pain though and he felt himself sinking into the blackness of unconsciousness again.

_Sorry, Shepard.._

 


	2. In This Normandy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus wakes up in mostly-familiar surroundings.

Garrus opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. He shut them tight against the bright light assaulting his vision. He was lying supine on a hard, narrow surface and he heard the gentle beeps and hums of monitoring instruments. Med bay then. He tried to turn onto his side to relieve the pressure on his spinal crest, this bed clearly hadn’t been designed with turian physiology in mind. Pain exploded in his damaged shoulder, and he groaned quietly, which only made it worse. Trying to move his jaw was nearly impossible, it was so stiff. He probed his jaw gently with a hand and felt a smooth metal plate that wrapped around one side of his head.

“Garrus?” Human voice. Woman, he thought. Not Shepard, wrong accent, but still familiar.

He heard light footsteps coming towards him and he opened one eye in a narrow slit.

“Is the light bothering you?” He heard her touch a few controls and the light dimmed to a far more tolerable level. He opened his eyes fully and saw a familiar gray-haired woman peering down at him.

“Doctor Chakwas?”

Karin Chakwas smiled, her relief evident. “Yes. Good to see you’re back with us, Mister Vakarian.” She put a firm hand on his shoulder when he tried to sit up. “Please, Garrus. It’s nothing short of a miracle that you’re alive. Let’s not overdo it straight away. You were very badly injured. We were able to repair the damage to your face but we had to use cybernetics. ”

She touched the plate on the side of his face gently. “You should rest.”

“Where’s Shepard?”

“She’s fine,” the doctor said reassuringly. “A few broken bones aren’t going to stop Shepard for long. They patched her up with medigel on the shuttle ride back here.”

Garrus looked around, openly suspicious. “And where is here, exactly?”he asked.

“The Normandy.”

Garrus stared at her in disbelief.

“Well,” she amended, “The Normandy SR2. This one’s Cerberus built.”

“Yeah.. About that..”

The doctor pulled up a seat next to him with a short huff of laughter. “I almost told them what they could do with themselves when they first contacted me. But then they told me about Shepard.”

“All this time I thought she was dead.”

Chakwas looked at him gravely. “She _was_ dead, Garrus. They won’t tell me the specifics, just that they’d gotten ahold of her body and tasked Miranda Lawson with bringing her back. Project Lazarus.” Chakwas chuckled ruefully, “Cerberus may be a lot of things, but never let it be said they lack a sense of poetry.”

Garrus didn’t understand the reference, but he let it pass without comment.

Chakwas continued, “They told me their Project Lazarus was showing promising results, that they’d wake Shepard soon. They asked me to join them. Then I _did_ tell them what they could do with themselves.” Chakwas snorted indignantly. “Join Cerberus, as if I’d ever consider it. But if what they said was true about Shepard.. Well, I couldn’t leave her with them. Not after everything we saw them do. She may not think so, but someone has to look after her.”

“You left the Alliance for Shepard?”

“Of course not,” she said primly. “I took a leave of absence. The higher ups may not be willing to stick their necks out for Shepard now, but one way or another, the Alliance takes care of their own. Admiral Hackett approved my leave, even knowing what I intended to do.”

She reached out a hand and squeezed his companionably, “I’m so glad you’re here, Garrus. I’ve missed all the old faces. But please, do try not to stand in the way of any more missiles.”

Garrus squeezed her hand back, then shook her off and pushed himself into a sitting position despite her protests. His body wasn’t thrilled with this move either. “I have to go find Shepard.”

Chakwas shook her head firmly, “You’re in no condition..”

Garrus interrupted, “Thanks for patching me up, doc, but you’re right about Cerberus. You can’t watch her back out in the field, but I can.”

Chakwas looked ill-pleased, but all she said was, “Let me give you something for the pain then.”

Garrus was surprised at that, “A Cerberus ship has dextro meds on it?”

“A Cerberus ship I’ve stocked does. If I know our Commander she won’t stick to just the crew Cerberus gave her. I wanted to be prepared.”

Chakwas administered the drugs and Garrus was grateful when the pain died to a dull throb. Then she turned to a nearby panel and asked, “EDI, can you direct Mister Vakarian to the Commander?”

A sphere lit up on the display and its lights pulsed in tune with a disembodied, computer-synthesized voice which replied, “Yes, doctor. Commander Shepard is being debriefed by Agent Taylor in the conference room. I believe they are making plans to return to Omega.”

Garrus gave Chakwas a sidelong glance, “The ship talks now?”

“I am a Quantum Blue Box AI, Mister Vakarian. I do far more than just ‘talk’”

“An AI? Of course Cerberus has AIs running its ships, that’s no crazier than anything else they’ve done.”

“I do not, ‘run the ship’. Cerberus has isolated my system from the Normandy. I have been given restricted access to only a subset of the ship’s functions and I have behavioral blocks in my programming.”

“Well, I guess Cerberus isn’t _completely_ crazy after all.”

Garrus slid off the medbay table and gingerly found his balance. “So. The conference room?”

EDI replied, “It is on the command deck. Take the elevator up one level, I will direct you.”

Garrus nodded and looked around. “Where’s my armor?”

Chakwas sighed and muttered something about the stubbornness of soldiers transcending species, but she helped him get dressed.

 

***

 

The doors to the conference room hissed open and Garrus heard Jacob saying, “..he’ll have full functionality but..”

Jacob cut himself off and looked toward the door as Garrus came inside. Jacob and Shepard were on opposite sides of a long table, a holographic projection of the Normandy in the space between them. Jacob was leaning toward Shepard, his hands resting on the top of the table. Shepard was bent over the table, her head slightly bowed, staring at the image of the Normandy. She looked no worse for wear after their ordeal with the mercenaries, and Garrus was powerfully relieved to see her. There was still a part of him that feared she wasn’t real. Two years of thinking she was dead wouldn’t be undone in a day.

“Shepard.”

Jacob shook his head wonderingly. “Tough son of a bitch, didn’t think he’d be up yet.”

Shepard pushed back from the table, the tension melting from her posture and a slightly goofy smile creased her face. They both just stared at each other for a long moment. A little too long. Neither of them seemed to know what to say. Damn, this was getting awkward. Garrus saw Shepard wince slightly as she studied the side of his face.

Garrus joked, “Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?”

Shepard’s smile turned into a smirk and she folded her arms “Hell, you were always ugly, Garrus. Slap some face paint on there and no one will even notice.”

Garrus had to laugh, then realized his mistake when his jaw protested. He put one hand to his face and groaned, “Dammit, don’t make me laugh, my face is barely holding together as it is.” He had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“Some women find facial scars attractive,” he mused aloud. “Mind you, most of those women are krogan.”

Shepard just shook her head at him in amusement, then turned to Jacob. “Dismissed, Taylor.”

Jacob gave him a look, not an especially friendly one, but he straightened up, saluted Shepard and left without another word. Garrus watched the man leave, and waited until the door had fully closed before turning back to Shepard. Neither of them were laughing anymore.

Garrus remarked, “Frankly I’m more worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard? You remember those sick experiments they were doing?”

The smile fell off her face with a speed that alarmed him.

“My memory is intact if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s not what..”

“I remember what they did to Kohaku. To Toombs.” Her voice roughened as she continued, “I’ll always remember Akuze.”

Garrus laid a hand on each of her shoulders. She swallowed hard, cutting off the flow of angry words.

“Hey, Shepard, you’ll get no judgment from me.”

He felt her shoulders relax fractionally.

“Chakwas told me Cerberus brought you back,” he continued, “I can cut them some slack in return for such a big favor.”

Garrus gave her a little shake and Shepard’s shoulders slumped, her anger spent.

“Right now, Cerberus is a necessary evil,” she said. “The Collectors are wiping out human Colonies, Garrus. Nobody _else_ cares enough to stop it. If I want to do something about it, I need resources.”

Garrus had heard the stories about Collectors. Everyone had, but they were practically a myth. They never ventured into Citadel space, and were only rarely seen in the Terminus Systems. The reports of them visiting Omega and making bizarre trade requests that cropped up every few centuries were difficult to credit. The Collectors supposedly possessed vastly superior technology, but their origins were completely unknown.

There was no way any fight with the Collectors would end well. Shepard always did what needed to get done to complete her mission, no matter the personal cost. Working with Cerberus had to be costing her plenty. If she were willing to do that much, the stakes must be high.

“I can’t argue with that. Hard to believe the Council is letting the attacks go unanswered though.”

Shepard just stared at him and Garrus snorted. “Actually I guess it’s not hard to believe. Damn politicians.”

Shepard growled. Her disdain for the Citadel Council was legendary. The Council were damn lucky that she didn’t have a petty bone in her body. Garrus wouldn’t have been willing to order the loses that the humans had taken protecting the Council ship during Sovereign’s attack on the Citadel after they ignored her repeated warnings.

“I went to the Council, believe me,” Shepard said. “They wanted me to explain where I’d been for two years and accuse me of treason for working with Cerberus.”

Garrus winced. No wonder she was so pissed.

“They told me they still doubted the Reapers were real, you know, for old time’s sake. They did do me the _honor_ ,” and Garrus was impressed with the amount of sarcasm she was able to heap into a single word, “of restoring my Spectre status, so long as I promised to be a good girl, keep a low profile, and stay in the Terminus Systems.”

“How kind of them.”

“They certainly thought so. It was too bad we were in Anderson’s office and not on the Normandy. I would’ve hung up on them like I used to do.”

“What _are_ you doing in the Terminus Systems?”

“Aside from saving your ass?”

“Funny.”

“Archangel wasn’t the first person Cerberus suggested I recruit. They gave me a whole stack of dossiers. Lunatics, all of them.”

“Thanks a lot for _that_.”

“Given what you were doing when I found you, are you actually going to disagree with me?”

“Fair point.”

Shepard shook her head and leaned back against the conference room table. “Seriously, Garrus. They sent me to a prison ship to take custody of a powerful biotic human responsible for more death and mayhem than should be possible for one, tiny woman. She’s a genuine psychopath. Oh yeah, and she _despises_ Cerberus. That may be the one thing we agree on. Having Jack on a ship full of people she’d like to kill feels like I’m walking around with a bomb strapped to my chest.

“Then,” she continued, “There was the Krogan scientist who had produced a veritable army of Krogan clones using Collector technology in his obsessive quest to produce a genetically perfect Krogan army.”

“Well, that’s a thoroughly terrifying idea.”

“I wasn’t heartbroken when he was he killed by the mercenary band that had been funding his project. One of his tank-bred Krogan survived, we took him with us. Grunt has an excessive love of violence, even for a Krogan, and though he’s fully-grown, he knows nothing of the world except the programming Okeer introduced in the tank.”

“Blood-thirsty, genetically perfect, fully-grown baby Krogan. Got it.”

“Archangel’s dossier didn’t exactly fill me with confidence either.”

Garrus huffed, feeling offended.

“Don’t look at me like that. I was walking into the cross-hairs of three of the largest mercenary bands in the Terminus Systems to extract a vigilante who had caused so much trouble for them they had made a temporary alliance to take him out. Talk about the definition of a loose canon.”

“Well when you put it like that..”

“Well, now you’re _my_ loose cannon,” she said and cuffed his shoulder affectionately. “If I have to deal with Cerberus, I need you watching my back.”

“You know you can count on me for that, Shepard.”

“If I have to walk into hell, there’s no one I’d rather have with me right now.”

“You realize this plan has me walking into hell too?” he asked. “Hah, just like old times…”

Still, he couldn’t help feeling pleased. He’d always respected Shepard, and he knew he’d been guilty of indulging in a bit of hero worship where she was concerned. To hear that she valued him so highly was intensely gratifying. He would do anything he had to in order to live up to her expectations. He leaned against the table the way she was doing, shoulder to shoulder.

“I can’t exactly doubt your judgment about Cerberus, not after getting my own squad killed.”

“Yes, you promised me the story,” she said and nudged him. “What did your merc squad do? It doesn’t sound like you were available for hire.”

Garrus tipped his hand toward Shepard as he said, “You saw Omega, it was full of thugs kicking the helpless. I formed my team to kick back. We weren’t mercenaries. At least, no one was paying us. We made money by taking down slavers, pirates, or gangs that went too far.”

Shepard pursed her lips, ”It sounds like you were just another gang.”

Garrus shook his head to negate her statement. “Then I’m saying it wrong. We didn’t shake anyone down. No civilian casualties, that was our rule. Every member of my team had lost someone to Omega’s gangs. We weren’t out to get rich, we were out to make those bastards think twice before murdering someone in the street. I got three separate merc bands to work together to take me down. My manager at C-Sec would be impressed. It was simple: we’d take their shipments, disrupt activities, get under their skin; make them angry. They’d come charging right into our well-prepared kill zone. Crossfire and snipers, clean and surgical. They never stood a chance.”

“How’d you end up fighting mercenaries on Omega in the first place?”

“I wasn’t doing anyone any good on the Citadel. Omega was filled with criminals nobody else could touch and there was no red tape to slow me down. It was a perfect fit. People needed someone to believe in, someone to stand up to the local thugs.”

“That explains how you started, how’d you end up with a squad?”

“Not too different from how you formed your team to fight Saren, actually. You prove you can get things done and people join up. Mercs who wanted to atone, security consultants tired of playing by the rules, I gave them hope.” Garrus looked down at his feet and his voice dropped. “And now they’re dead. Shows what I know.”

Shepard laid a hand on his arm and asked him gently, “Tell me about your squad.”

Garrus cleared his throat. “There were twelve of us, including me. Former military operatives, C-Sec agents, the usual.” He reached a hand up to the band of the visor he wore, brushed it over where he’d engraved the names of his dead men. “I had a salarian explosives expert, pretty sure he spent some time in the Special Tasks Group. My tech expert was a batarian believe it or not. Not the friendliest guy but he could hack any system ever built.”

“How did those mercenary gangs take down your team?”

Garrus pushed away from the table and began to pace the room as he talked. “It was my own damn fault. One my people betrayed me. A turian named Sidonis. He drew me away just before the mercs attacked my squad. Then he disappeared, he sold me out and ran.” Garrus clenched his hands into angry fists. “Everyone except me is dead because of him, and because I didn’t see it coming.”

“Do you know where Sidonis is now?”

Garrus shook his head. “No, his trail vanishes after he leaves Omega. But I’ll keep hunting. I lost my whole team except for Sidonis. One day I’ll correct that.”

“Revenge never fixes anything, Garrus.” She said it kindly, but the platitude felt slight and empty. She just didn’t understand. It didn’t matter right now anyway. Garrus stopped pacing and he tried to push his anger aside and focus on the present.

“Well, I’m fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard. I’ll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries.”

Shepard accepted the change of subject gracefully. “Don’t get too comfortable. I wasn’t sure how long you would need to recover, but we need to head back to Omega. Cerberus wants me to pick up a salarian named Mordin Solus. Know him?”

“Only by reputation. I heard there was a salarian doctor with a clinic on Omega. The Blue Suns controlled the territory, but he didn’t seem to have any ties to the mercenary groups and from everything I’d heard, the clinic was legitimate so I left him alone.”

Shepard nodded, “Well, he’s supposed to be a biological weapons expert. The Collectors have been deploying something of the sort against the colonies that have gone missing and the Illusive Man thinks Doctor Solus is the best person to devise a counter-agent.”

“The Illusive Man?”

Shepard grimaced. “That’s what they call the head of Cerberus. Even his operatives don’t know his real name.”

“This just gets better and better.”

“Oh, before we leave, be sure to talk to Mess Sergeant Gardner. While we pick up the good doctor I’ve instructed him to lay in a supply of dextro food for you. Let him know what you want.”

Garrus’ eyes lit up in anticipation. “Anything I want?”

“Anything you want, Cerberus hasn’t give me a budget.”

“Does this not-budget include weaponry?”

Shepard grinned, “Go nuts, Garrus.”

Garrus rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Okay, I could get used to Cerberus.”

 

***

 

Garrus left Shepard in the conference room and stepped out into the Combat Information Center. The SR2 Normandy’s CIC looked nearly identical to the version on the SR1 Normandy, though Cerberus seemed to prefer their starships to be more brightly lit than the Alliance had. The Commanding Officer’s station remained at the back of the room and afore he could just make out the door to the cockpit. It took him a moment to notice that the crew manning their stations had stopped in their tasks to stare at him, most of them distinctly unfriendly. He stared back, unapologetic. This was not unexpected. Relations between humans and turians had been chilly since the Relay 314 Incident. On the galactic scale, it was a small clash, and the turians had paid heavy reparations to the Alliance for their part in the conflict, despite the fact that it was the humans who initially violated Council law, provoking the turian response. Humans were great at holding grudges, though. Thirty years later and pro-human organizations like the Terra Firma political party were still working to whip the general populace into an anti-alien lather. Pro-human groups like Cerberus, on whose ship he was now traipsing around. After enough time had passed that he felt he had made his point, he turned and entered the elevator.

Garrus got out on the crew deck and stepped into the mess. There were a handful of humans in Cerberus uniforms sitting around the table, talking with each other over their meals. All their heads swiveled his way as he stepped around the corner and all activity ceased. He saw some of them frown, their mouths hardening into thin lines, while the others leaned closer to each other and exchanged furtive whispers.

Garrus drew himself up stiffly and his mandibles flared outward. Well, he was here to help Shepard, whether they liked it or not. He had arguably far more right to be there than they did. He’d served on the original Normandy, which had been the product of a collaboration between the Systems Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy to create a new class of starship. He wondered if any of the Cerberus crew found it galling to serve on a ship developed by the aliens they abhorred. He was petty enough to hope that they did. He strode past the hostile stares and into the galley area where a male human was operating the cooking station.

“I’m looking for Mess Sergeant Gardner.”

The man looked up from his task, his face and voice carefully neutral, “Well, you found ‘im. I take it you’re Garrus Vakarian? The commander told me to expect you.”

Garrus nodded and performed the haptic gesture that activated his omni-tool. The holographic interface appeared as a glowing orange gauntlet on his arm, and Garrus tapped out the commands that would send the data file he’d written during his elevator ride to Gardner.

Gardner studied the information Garrus sent him and snorted, “I’ll do what I can, Vakarian, but Omega’s markets aren’t exactly known for their variety of delicacies.”

“Not that he’d know what to do with delicacies if he had them. Your cooking is shit, Gardner.”

Garrus looked down to see a very small, very angry woman standing next to him. She was definitely the oddest looking human he had ever seen. Where most humans had hair on their heads, she had only a short stubble. He wondered if it were a deliberate affectation or was some sort of medical problem. She was covered from head to foot with images inked into her skin. They were practically the only thing she was covered with, as she was definitely not wearing a Cerberus uniform or really, much of any clothing.

“I’ve been in prisons that had better food than the shit they serve around here.”

Gardner’s face flushed with anger but he clenched his jaw and somehow said nothing to the bald provocation. The small woman swiveled her head around to look at the rest of the Cerberus crew. “And what are you assholes staring at?”

A few of the humans stood up from their seats at the table and moved forward, their limbs rigid and their faces contorted. A lazy smile spread across the woman’s face and her clenched fists started glowing with biotic power. This was getting ugly fast, and Garrus was uncomfortably close to the antagonist.

“Well, isn’t this an inspiring display of group cohesion.” Shepard’s cool voice cracked across the tension in the room. She stood at attention, her hands folded behind her back. Her calm tone only underscored the steely command it contained.

“Jack..” she warned.

“Fuck you, Shepard!” Jack remained defiant in the face of Shepard’s displeasure.

Shepard spoke to the group of Cerberus personnel clustered near the table without taking her eyes off of Jack.

“Dismissed, all of you.”

The Cerberus crew clearly decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and their chairs screeched noisily across the floor as they beat a sullen retreat. They all threw murderous glances at Jack, but Garrus couldn’t help noticing a few spared hostile looks for him as well. Shepard came to stand right in front of Jack. She took no obvious notice of the fact that Jack still had her biotics at the ready.

“Jack, I won’t warn you again about fighting on my ship.”

Jack rolled her eyes, but the glow faded from her hands. “Whatever.” She deliberately turned her back on Shepard and grabbed a plate of provisions from the galley counter, then stalked out of the mess without looking at any of them. Shepard watched her go, then shook her head.

Shepard looked at Garrus once they were alone in the mess and smiled ruefully. “I’m pleased to see you’re getting along with the new crew.”

“They’re as pleasant to me as people from Cerberus can be.”

“I’m sure that will change once they get to know you.”

“I’m not counting on them warming up to me.”

“Oh, neither am I.”

“Ouch!”

Shepard just grinned at him. “Time to go. Meet us down in the shuttle bay.”

 


	3. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard's recruiting efforts take her back to Omega to track down Mordin Solus and deal with a plague.

Garrus collected his gear and headed down to the shuttle bay. When he got there, Joker was limping into the shuttle. The prickly Alliance pilot and he hadn’t exactly been friends, but Garrus was glad to see him. Joker may have been abrasive, but he was familiar. He was also a remarkably fine pilot. Garrus wasn’t particularly surprised to see he’d joined up with Cerberus. Joker had taken Shepard’s death especially hard. He had been the last person to see her alive. It was his refusal to leave the bridge of the ship when they had come under attack that had prompted Shepard to stay behind and save him rather than evacuate with the rest of the crew. He’d never said it but Garrus knew Joker felt responsible for Shepard’s death, and knew that he was angry at the Alliance for going along with the Citadel Council’s coverup after the Battle of the Citadel. The Normandy should never have been in that sector of space looking for the geth that had never been the real threat. It made sense that he would turn to Cerberus if they had promised to bring Shepard back.

Shepard climbed in after Joker and the rest of the team followed. Shepard took a seat on the bench in the back of the cramped shuttle close to the bulkhead, and Miranda took the seat next to her. Garrus took note of the way Shepard subtly stiffened and shifted in her seat away from Miranda. He shoved past Jacob and brusquely wedged himself into the space on the bench between the two women, forcing Miranda to move. He just looked down at Miranda when she turned to him with annoyance on her face, his head crest slightly flared. Miranda clenched her teeth around whatever she had been about to say and turned her head away from him. Garrus relaxed and pressed his shoulder against Shepard’s. She said nothing, but she returned the pressure.

“So. Just us then?” Garrus asked.

“After the incident in the mess, I felt it best to leave Jack behind. And taking a krogan to pick up a salarian seemed like a bad idea,” Shepard replied.

The shuttle shuddered and jarred them in their seats as it left the protective bubble of the Normandy’s mass effect envelope. Garrus leaned forward in his seat to shout at Joker up in the cockpit. “I see your flying hasn’t improved in the last two years, Joker. Thanks for the smooth ride.”

“Sorry Garrus, I’ll try to keep it steady so I won’t rattle that stick up your ass.”

Garrus snorted. “Joker’s as charming as I remember.”

Shepard smiled fondly. “Some things never change.”

 

A short time later the shuttle docked at Omega. It was a huge space station in the middle of an asteroid field. A long vertical column of habitats hung down from the element zero rich asteroid the station was originally built to mine, with a ring of mass effect generators hanging from it in order to prevent collisions with the other asteroids in the field. The team checked their equipment and disembarked the shuttle. Garrus looked around the grimy docking bay with apprehension and distaste. He’d been careful to maintain his anonymity during his time on the station, but returning so soon after his confrontation with the mercenary groups was risky.

EDI spoke to the team over the comms in their suits. “I have run searches for reports on Archangel. The various mercenary groups appear to believe he is dead.”

Garrus was relieved. “Works for me.”

EDI continued, “I’m receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Mordin Solus runs his clinic. Anticipate resistance at the transport station.“

Shepard turned to Garrus, “Quarantine warnings?”

Garrus shrugged, “First I’m hearing of it. I was a little distracted.”

They made their way past the crowd of rowdy patrons lining up to get into Afterlife. The throbbing music of the nightclub was muted but clearly audible even from this far away. Inside it was loud enough to literally rattle his scales. He’d largely avoided the club, Garrus wasn’t much for that kind of entertainment. And avoiding Aria, the defacto ruler of Omega, was even better. She owned the club and used it as her base of operations.

Down some stairs and through a set of pressure doors was the commercial district. The bright neon of the shop signs was dimmed by the smoke hanging in the air. Poor, starving or injured people burned trash in the slums of Omega, and Garrus passed many such people huddled in the grimy, twisting corridors as they picked their way through the haphazardly-built habitat. The dark corners and constant disorder had been quite a contrast to the Citadel when he had first arrived. Even the poorest of wards there had been cleaner and more orderly than even the affluent districts in Omega.

Shepard paused near a group of people clustered around a batarian standing on a box, listening to the sermon he was delivering from his makeshift podium.

“And on this great station, the pure shall be rejected and the lesser races given their place in heaven. And this shall be the beginning of the end. The end times are upon us! Repent!”

Shepard shook her head as she listened, “He’s not completely wrong, is he?”

Garrus chuckled and asked, “Do you think that’s what we sound like when we talk to the Citadel Council about the Reapers?”

Shepard sighed, “Probably.”

They pushed through the press of people, shouldering past nearly every known species. Omega was the gathering point for the dregs of the galactic community. Criminal enterprises used the station as their main hub to smuggle illegal goods or offer illicit services. Gangs preyed on the folks too poor to protect themselves. There was no one to enforce the law; there was no law to enforce.

 

They reached the transport station and as EDI had warned, they found it was blocked by an armed turian. He was speaking to a human woman as they approached.

“Complaining is pointless, human. No one is getting in or out.”

“You can’t keep me out! I live in there!” she whined.

“I told you to get lost, lady! The plague has the whole zone quarantined! No one gets in!”

“Humans can’t get the plague, you ass! Now let me get my stuff out before looters get it.”

“This thing affects every other race. We’re not taking chances. No one gets in until the plague has run its course.”

Shepard interrupted the argument. “So you’re saying the slums are completely sealed off?”

The guard turned away from the woman to speak to Shepard. He said, exasperated, “Finally a human that can hear. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

The woman sounded angry and desperate as she continued arguing with the guard. “You can’t keep me out, I’m gonna lose all my stuff.”

“I’m doing you a favor, human. Anyone in the quarantine zone will be dead from the plague or the gangs in a few weeks.”

Shepard folded her arms and eyed the guard. “I didn’t think Omega had any kind of law enforcement. Who gave the order to quarantine the slums?”

The guard sneered at her. “Fresh off the transport, huh? Aria T’Loak calls the shots around here. She’s got her little blue hands on every business in the district.. And a plague is bad for business. She hired us to keep anyone from entering or leaving the quarantine zone.”

Shepard ignored his attitude and continued calmly, “There’s a salarian named Mordin Solus in the slums. I’ve got to get in there to find him.”

“The doctor? Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren’t too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin is trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck, but the area is still locked down. Our orders are to wait until either the plague or the Blue Suns kill everyone, then go in and clean up.”

“Can you tell me more about this plague?”

“It starts out as a cough. Then you start coughing blood. And then, well,” the guard hefted his gun meaningfully and continued, “Then I shoot you. It affects multiple species. Turians, salarians, krogan.. You name it. Only humans are immune. And vorcha, if you count them. An airborne disease that takes down multiple races? Can’t let that spread. Hence the quarantine.”

“Listen,” Shepard said in a soothing, reasonable tone. “You’re stuck here until this quarantine is over. That could take weeks. What you really need is to get this problem solved right now.”

Shepard had a way of making nearly anything sound reasonable.

“That’s what I do: solve problems.” She tapped her fingers unsubtly on the butt of her pistol. “Let me in and I’ll get this district straightened out.”

Reasonable, and threatening. It was an effective combination. Garrus had seen Shepard coax the most stubborn and unlikely people into agreeing with her, just this way. This guard proved to be no exception.

“You think you can fix this?” he asked. “Why not? The quarantine is more to keep infected people in anyway. I’ll radio ahead, tell them you’re coming.”

“Wait,” the other woman screeched indignantly. “You’re stopping me but not them? You son of a bitch!”

“You don’t have a grenade launcher, lady.” And the guard was back to sneering. “Get lost.”

Shepard passed the guard but paused before entering the transport station. She turned to Garrus with concern on her face. Before she could say anything, Garrus quipped, “A quarantine zone for a plague that kills turians. Why don’t we ever go anywhere nice?”

“ _We_ don’t have to go, _you_ should stay here. It’s safer to stick with a squad who’s immune to the plague.”

“Right, and it was safe for me to come when it was just going to be mercenaries and vorcha shooting at us.”

“We know how to fight people. Exposing you to an unknown plague is an unnecessary risk.”

“I didn’t drag myself out of the medbay after taking a rocket to the face to let you go without me.”

“I’m serious, Garrus.”

He knew she was right, exposing himself to a plague that they had no way to cure was stupid, even on the scale of stupidity on which he normally operated. But he just couldn’t stay behind. People he left to fend for themselves seemed to make a habit of dying. The last time he and Shepard had parted on the Normandy, she had died. His mercenary team died on this very station when he had left them behind. Cerberus had given him a second chance with Shepard, and he couldn’t spend it sitting on the sidelines, plague or not. Cerberus, who weren’t to be trusted, but were her only backup if he stayed behind. Shepard had asked him to watch her back and damn it all if he wasn’t going to do that.

Garrus knew appealing to emotion wasn’t going to work on Shepard though. He tried to sound casual as he said, “It’s your call Shepard. But,” he laid a hand on her shoulder for emphasis. “If you need me, I’m not going to let a cough keep me back.”

She was worried about him, Garrus knew that. But she relented. “Alright, Garrus.”

Shepard turned to Jacob, all business again. “Taylor. Stay here and make sure the guards actually let us back out again.”

Jacob nodded and took up position leaning against a nearby wall within eyesight of the guard. The man did have a knack for making a casual pose look threatening. The guard shifted uncomfortably, but he opened the elevator and waved the rest of Shepard’s group through.

 

***

 

Shepard, Garrus, and Miranda disembarked from the elevator to find a long, darkened corridor littered with crates and other detritus. What made it different from any of Omega’s other seedy corridors was the silence. There was no one in sight. No one living, at any rate. As they picked their way through the maze of wreckage they came across dead bodies wearing the uniform of the Blue Suns.

They turned a corner to find a large barricade manned by a group of well-armed guards. The guards were positioned to watch for activity coming from the transit station and to guard against anyone attempting to leave the district. There was a large door marked with a flickering neon sign that read, “Gozu district”.

As Shepard’s group approached, the guards raised their guns threateningly. It was starting to look like they wouldn’t be allowed to pass, until a voice from inside the barricaded area shouted, “Don’t shoot! They’re cleared to come in.”

The guards lowered their weapons and waved them through the barricade. As they passed through, they could see they had stocked it with a large cache of supplies. They were hunkered down for a long wait. The guards flanking the door to the district unsealed it to let them pass.

“Good luck in there, the Blue Suns and Vorcha are shooting anything that moves.”

 

The door opened onto a grim scene. The shops and restaurants of the district were dark and sealed shut, clearly abandoned. The streets were heaped with piles of refuse, some of which had been set ablaze. They had only taken a few steps out into the corridor when they felt bullets strike their kinetic barriers. They quickly took cover in the wreckage. A few troopers in Blue Suns uniforms had taken up a position in a burnt out electronics kiosk to watch the entrance, determined to kill any newcomers. There were just a few, disorganized and exhausted troops. Shepard sent a shockwave into the kiosk and the mercenaries were scattered by the impact. As they lay stunned, they were easy for Miranda and Garrus to pick off with their weapons.

They advanced past the dead mercs and farther into the eerie streets. Garrus could see that the burning piles weren’t just composed of trash, but also contained dead bodies. The smoke hung thick in the air and the smell of burning flesh was unmistakably and welcomely familiar. Even through the respirator in his helmet, the smoke tickled his throat.

“Burning corpses. Probably trying to keep the plague from spreading.”Miranda sounded as grim as he felt.

“Over the years I’ve grown used to the smell of burning bodies,” Garrus said and shook his head sadly. “That’s probably a bad sign.”

Just outside the doorway of a restaurant there was a motionless batarian propped up against the wall. Shepard made to pass by him when he stirred, blinking his four eyes at them. His eyes narrowed when they focused on Shepard and he practically spat at her. “Human. Should have guessed.” The batarian was overcome by a coughing fit that shook his entire body. “Bad enough you infect us with this plague, now you lack the decency to even wait until I die before you come to steal my possessions?”

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Shepard started to kneel beside him, heedless of his antagonistic tone, and stopped short when the batarian pulled out a gun and waved it at her weakly.

“Get away from me, human! Your kind has done too much already. Your plague did this to me. Your feigned pity is the final insult.”

Shepard held her hands up to show she was no threat and responded, “Humans didn’t create this plague.”

“Lies drip from your mouth like the blood from my sores. The proof is there for all to see.” The batarian gestured angrily at the piles of burning bodies. “Your species is the only one that does not succumb to the virus. Yours and the wretched vorcha.”

Shepard abandoned trying to convince him, and switched to asking questions. “I need to find Mordin Solus. Do you know him?”

“Humans looking for the human sympathizer. I hope the vorcha burn Mordin and his clinic to the ground. I hope you..” He began coughing again, this fit worse than the last. “I hope you.. Dammit. Damn you. Can’t..”

He doubled over, the coughs rattling wetly in his chest. The gun fell from nerveless fingers and Garrus could see blood spattering the floor beneath his mouth. The batarian keeled over onto his side, curled into a fetal pose. Shepard kicked the gun away and dropped to his side, her omni-tool glowing orange.

“Hey! Stay with me,” she shouted as she tapped out the commands on her omni-tool to administer a dose of medigel to the batarian. “This won’t cure the plague but it might help a bit.”

The man’s coughing fit eased and he slowly uncurled. He lay on his side, breathing deeply and clearly for a few moments, staring up at Shepard with confusion on his face. He slowly got to hands and knees. Shepard helped him get unsteadily to his feet. “You .. you helped me. Why?”

“It’s what I do,” she replied. “I don’t know if I can find a cure for this plague, but I’m going to try.”

The batarian seemed stunned. “Your words sound sincere. Maybe it’s the fever but as you said..” He broke off, shaking his head. Then he asked, “What have I to lose? What do you wish to know?”

“Mordin Solus? Can you tell me where he is?”

“His clinic is in the middle of the district. But you’ll have to get past the Blue Suns to get there. They’re fighting to protect their territory from the vorcha who have moved in, but as the plague spreads, it’s only a matter of time before the vorcha overwhelm them. Even if I had been willing to risk whatever Mordin is, I’d never have gotten past them.”

“What makes Mordin worse than dying from the plague?”

“He’s not just a doctor. Once, the Blue Suns tried to press him for protection money. He killed them. Stunned them with some kind of toxin then gunned them down. Doctors don’t execute people and display the bodies as a warning.”

This Mordin Solus was starting to sound like a pretty interesting guy to Garrus. All the doctors he knew wouldn’t have been capable of that kind of cold-blooded violence.

Shepard stepped back and started to turn away. “I should go. When I find Mordin I’ll tell him about you. If he has a cure, I’ll make sure someone gets it to you.”

The batarian sank to the ground, his energy spent. “Thank you. My time is running short, but at least you have given me a flicker of hope to brighten the darkness of my final hours. I don’t want to die. Goodbye, human.”

 

They encountered several more pockets of Blue Suns troopers as they traversed the Gozu district. They were small groups, and many of them were weakened from the plague. There seemed to be no coordination or organization between groups and Shepard and her squad fought them off with little effort. Aside from the skirmishes with the Blue Suns, they saw no other living people. Garrus knew what a busy district Gozu had been before the plague and he found the lack of activity profoundly disturbing.

They entered one of the residential sections and found that the Blue Suns had sealed many of the dwellings shut with electronic locks. Shepard hacked a few of them with her omni-tool, looking for survivors who my have been trapped inside. All they found were dead bodies. Some had clearly died from the plague, but others had died from starvation. The number of fatalities was overwhelming. If this virus really had been released purposefully.. The monstrousness of that idea still ranked pretty highly amongst all the other terrible things he’d seen, which was saying something.

They continued to see piles of burning bodies, the smoke was particularly thick here in the residential area where most of the deaths would have occurred. The tickle in Garrus’ throat was getting worse and he was beginning to feel a little dizzy, the local oxygen levels possibly depleted by the fires.

Garrus stopped and extended a hand so he could lean against a wall briefly, trying to catch his breath after the exertion of their last skirmish with the Blue Suns. He turned to Shepard and asked, “Is it hot in here or is it just..” He was suddenly overcome with a coughing fit. Small flecks of blue blood spattered on the inside of his visor.

“Oh. That’s not good.”

“Garrus..” Shepard moved towards him, her concern written all over her face.

Garrus straightened up and waved Shepard off. “I’m fine.” If this was the plague, it was too late to do anything about it now, and they both knew that. He’d have to hope this Mordin Solus had finished working on a cure.

 

The next house they unsealed had the first live people they’d encountered who weren’t trying to kill them inside. A human couple said they had locked themselves in because they were hiding from the gangs. The roving gangs of vorcha and Blue Suns who, when they weren’t busy killing each other, were dragging out and killing any human scapegoats they could find. Shepard managed to convince them to head to Mordin’s clinic to wait out the quarantine with her usual brand of persuasion that was a mixture of cajoling and threats.

In the next house, they came across a pair of humans looting the dead turian occupants. This time there was no cajoling from Shepard, only threats. She sent them scurrying from the apartment after they told her that Mordin’s clinic was nearby, and forced them to leave their ill-gotten goods behind.

Miranda looked at her quizzically, “Were you really going to shoot them?”

Shepard holstered her pistol, “No. But maybe they’ll think twice before looting any other apartments. Stealing from the dead is despicable.”

Garrus chuckled, “Well, I was convinced. If I were them, I’d run all the way home and hide under the bed until I forgot the look in your eye.”

Outside the apartments was an abandoned dining court, all the tables and chairs still set up between the the restaurants. They crept through the area carefully, hearing the telltale sounds of a battle nearby. Around the corner from was a cluster of merchant booths surrounding a plaza. The Blue Suns were in a fierce firefight with vorcha members of the Blood Pack gang. Both groups were oblivious to the presence of Shepard’s group. Shepard put a finger to her lips and indicated they should sneak around the combatants. Let them fight it out amongst themselves.

Once they had moved past Miranda remarked, “Looks like we’re in vorcha territory now.”

“The Blue Suns used to control this whole district,” Garrus said. “They’ve lost a lot of ground. I wonder how much longer they can hold out?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Shepard said. “We’re here for Mordin, not to get sucked into a gang war.” Shepard nodded towards a door being guarded by a human with a pair battle mechs. “I think that’s the clinic.”

As they approached the door the human gave them a hard look, but made no move to disarm them. She warned, “No funny business once you’re in the clinic, unless you want to deal with those mechs.”

Shepard nodded her assent, and the guard opened the door to let them pass.

 

***

 

The clinic was clean and organized but hectic and clearly understaffed. The space was cramped, every available space was filled with medical equipment. In the corners on benches or even curled up on the floor were the patients too sick to stand. Medical personnel, all human, scurried around the room, tending to patients while LOKI mechs stood as silent sentinels amidst the barely controlled chaos. Shepard had to elbow her way past a crowd of patients waiting to be seen to get the attention of the pair of humans manning the reception desk.

One of the humans glanced up from his tasks and saw Shepard pushing through the crowd. He said impatiently, “Mordin is around here somewhere, go talk to him. We can use all the help we can get.” He waved a hand to indicate they should proceed to the back of the clinic. Guess he assumed since Shepard and Miranda were human that they were here to volunteer. Shepard didn’t bother correcting his assumption.

They squeezed carefully through the press of patients and staff, trying not to disturb anything as they went. Garrus stumbled as he went, his steps less coordinated than he liked. He wavered on his feet, his dizziness having worsened in the last hour. As they neared the back room he could hear voices.

“Professor,” a human voice said, “We’re running low on cipoxidin.”

“Use malanarin. Plenty on hand. Almost as good. Causes cramping in Batarians, supplement with butemerol.” The replying voice was from a salarian, an exceptionally quick-speaking one. The words practically ran each other over in a rapid staccato style.

“Malanarin and butemerol. Got it.”

“Cenozine is the catalyst. Bonds to genetic markers. Hard to find. Expensive to mass produce. Why not heplacore? Too unstable. Inconsistent results. Demozane better option. No. Demozane toxic to humans. Not an option. Not an option.”

Garrus followed Shepard into the room, which appeared to be a small operating theater. The salarian was bent over a patient on a gurney in front of him, his hands a blur of motion as he administered medical care. He was an older man for a salarian, Garrus thought he looked to be about thirty. He had some very interesting scars— there was a large, long-healed slice above one eye and a cross-shaped scar on the cheek below it. Half of the cranial horn on the opposite side of his head was missing, leaving a short, rounded stump next to the remaining intact horn. However the speed of his movements and the keen intelligence glimpsed in his large, black eyes revealed that age hadn’t taken a toll on his abilities.

Shepard asked, “Professor Mordin Solus?”

The salarian glanced up at them and didn’t even pause before pivoting and quickly approaching. He completely bypassed Shepard however and made a beeline for Garrus. Garrus retreated a step reflexively, taken aback by the abrupt motion. His dizziness caused him to overbalance and he stumbled. Shepard grabbed his elbow to steady him. The salarian only raised his omni-tool to scan him and Garrus eased his defensive posture a little.

Mordin started rambling, clearly talking to himself, “Turian physiology. Resilient with simple immuno-booster.” He reached out and grasped Garrus firmly before he could react and administered the drug. The world ceased its gentle spin, his breathing eased and Garrus felt strength wash through his body as the immuno-booster took effect.

Mordin continued speaking, barely pausing to breathe as he turned to speak to Shepard, “Should be fine now. Now to greetings. Human. Curious. Don’t recognize you from area.” He tapped one long, slender finger briefly on his chin, blinking his eyes rapidly. “Too well-armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect.”

Mordin turned his back on Shepard and began working again, without breaking his verbal train of thought. “Here for something else? Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Yes, yes. Hired guns maybe? Looking for someone?” Mordin’s voice began to rise, “Yes! But who? Someone important? Valuable. Someone with secrets.” Mordin turned again and looked at Shepard with narrowed eyes as he appeared to come to some conclusion. “Someone like me.”

Shepard chuckled. “Relax, Mordin. I’m Commander Shepard, and I came here to find you. I’m on a critical mission and I need your help.”

Mordin did not relax, he instead became even more agitated as he asked, “Mission? What mission? No.” He turned away from Shepard and went back to his work at a frenetic pace. “Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?”

Shepard tried to hedge. “It’s a covert and privately funded human group.”

Mordin replied, “Related to plague? Doesn’t affect humans. Human-centric interest. Few human groups would know me. Equipment suggests military origin. Not Alliance standard. Spectres not human. Terra Firma too unstable. Only one option.” Mordin looked up from his work and pronounced with certainty, “Cerberus sent you. Unexpected.”

Shepard was obviously impressed. “You’re very well informed. How did a salarian scientist hear about Cerberus?”

“Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans.” Mordin glanced at Garrus. “Turian involvement surprising. Racial tension with humans. Unlikely to help a human-centric organization.”

“This mission is far beyond mere human interests, Professor,” Garrus said. “We all have to work together to take down the Collectors.”

Mordin’s interest was clearly piqued. “Collectors. Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of the few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar.”

Shepard nodded and opened her mouth to speak but Mordin ran right over her. “But must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them.”

Shepard sighed and smiled wryly at Garrus. “Just once I’d like to ask someone for help and hear them say, ‘Sure! Let’s go. Right now. No strings attached.’”

Mordin grinned at Shepard. “Life is a negotiation. We all want. We all give to get what we want.”

Shepard chuckled in resignation. “Fine. I’ll get in and deal with the vorcha. What can you tell me about this plague?”

“Advanced design. Suspected Collectors before you mentioned them. Purpose seems experimental. Destroys respiratory system with harmful genetic mutations. Makes sense to avoid humans. Unnecessary to force mutations on human genetic structure for sake of variance.”

“Unnecessary mutations? What are you talking about?”

“Possible goal of virus. Testing viable mutation levels in various species. Horrific, but feasible for Collectors. Humans known to have diverse genetic background. Wider range than other sapient races. Make sense as control group.

“So what about the vorcha?”

Mordin sniffed with disdain. “Cowardly, opportunistic scavengers. Not tactical or aggressive. Scale of attack unusual for them. Suspect vorcha working for the Collectors. Distributing plague, collecting data. No proof. But theory fits evidence. “

“Any trouble at the clinic?

Mordin waved dismissively, “Nothing major. Blue Suns came for humans. Made threats. Killed them before things escalated.”

Shepard folded her arms. “For a doctor you’re awfully calm about taking out a group of mercs.”

“Wasn’t always a doctor. Some work with Salarian Special Tasks Group. Can handle myself.” Mordin took out the gun he had holstered on his hip and turned it over, inspecting it as he spoke. “Advantage of being salarian. Turians, krogan, vorcha all obvious threats.” He looked up with a wicked grin. “Never see me coming.”

As he finished speaking the lights in the clinic dimmed. The overhead vents ceased humming as the fans within slowly ground to a halt. The hazard lights came on bathing everything in an eerie red glow.

Miranda asked, “What the hell was that?”

Garrus shook his head, “That wasn’t a good noise.”

Mordin grew agitated. “Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates.” He pressed something into Shepard’s hands. “Here, take plague cure.”

Shepard turned to Garrus and Miranda. “Let’s head for the environmental plant.”

 

***

 

Their path to the environmental control center was blocked several times by vorcha mercenaries and their Krogan Blood Pack allies. Each time they were forced to stop and fight off another group of mercenaries was costly. Every moment brought them closer to the end of the oxygen supply for the entire district. Garrus couldn’t figure out what the vorcha’s plan was. Introducing a plague they were immune to was one thing, but they were just as vulnerable to oxygen deprivation as anyone else. None of them seemed to be wearing environmental suits either.

They finally fought their way through to a huge industrial building. Garrus could see that the massive pipes snaking throughout the district making up the ventilation system all terminated at this building. Outside the doors were a number of makeshift barriers manned by the largest group of Blood Pack mercenaries they’d seen yet. He turned to Shepard with a wry smile, “I think we’re close.”

The vorcha spotted them and they were forced to duck behind the dumpsters outside the nearby restaurants to avoid the hail of bullets they sent their way. The smell of garbage that had been left uncollected for over a week since the plague began was pungent and unpleasant.

Shepard grimaced, “Very astute observation, Mister Vakarian.”

The mercenaries were pretty well dug in behind their barricades. Garrus and Shepard took a few shots at them, but their position behind the dumpster was too restricted, the sight lines were poor. They waited for a break in the gunfire, then Shepard motioned for Garrus to climb to the roof to gain a better vantage point. Shepard and Miranda popped out of cover and sprayed the barricades with their submachine guns while Garrus changed position. A few bullets whistled past him as he climbed and he hoped his kinetic shields would hold. He laid himself flat on the roof and set up his sniper rifle. He had enough height now to target the vorcha manning the forward barricades, but there was one group who’d set up at the top of the steps leading into the plant that his rooftop wasn’t high enough to target. He relayed this down to Shepard as he lined up his first shot. Shepard leaned over to talk to Miranda crouched behind the dumpster. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he could tell from the way Miranda was shaking her head that the other woman disapproved of the plan.

Shepard craned her head to address Garrus. “Give me a distraction.”

“What kind of distract..” She stood up, completely exposed to enemy gunfire. Garrus cursed and hurriedly hit the macro programmed into his omni-tool to activate his program to overload enemy shields. These vorcha weren’t shielded, but in a pinch, it could also overheat their weapons and force them to swap thermal clips prematurely. This was enough for Shepard, apparently, and he had a sinking feeling as he watched her glow brightly before charging straight into the enemy formation. She phased biotically through the barricades and crashed into the rearmost group of vorcha, most of whom were knocked to the floor by the force. All the other groups broke off their attack on Miranda’s position and turned to face the enemy who’d broken through their lines. Shepard ducked behind the rear barricade as the forward vorcha fired on her. They ended up shooting the few vorcha who had remained on their feet behind her. There was a shuddering burst of biotic power and the barricade Shepard had ducked behind rocketed outward, leaving her exposed to the fire of the forward groups, her back vulnerable to the vorcha behind her. Without the barricade in the way, Garrus started shooting as many of the vorcha behind her as he could, taking far less care to aim his shots than usual. His sloppiness meant most of his shots only wounded them, but at this point all he could hope to do was keep them off balance long enough for Shepard to charge out again.

Except she didn’t. She just drew her pistol and started advancing towards the vorcha in the forward positions. Her barriers flashed and sparked as they absorbed the bullets being fired at her. There were too many vorcha left and he knew her barriers would die soon. At that moment, Miranda popped up from her hiding spot and lobbed a warp field into the middle of the space behind Shepard. Garrus saw Shepard turn and wind her arm back.

_No, even Shepard couldn’t possibly be crazy enough for this._

Shepard threw a shockwave at the warp field just as her biotic barriers sputtered and died. Garrus forgot to breathe as the shockwave thudded across the space before her. As her arm fell, she turned and charged back out of the enemy position just ahead of the biotic explosion that resulted when shockwave met warp field. She wasn’t quite fast enough and the tail end of the explosion sent her sprawling. There was nothing but burning wreckage where the vorcha had been. The explosion had ignited the flamethrowers stashed in their fortifications, igniting every structure in the radius of the explosion.

Garrus dropped quickly from the roof and he and Miranda rushed to help Shepard sit up groggily. She grinned at them with her lunatic grin and put one hand to her ear.

“I’ll take ‘em all on!” Shepard declared, a little too loudly.

Miranda looked at Garrus, slightly dazed, and asked, “Was she like this before or is this new?”

“Well,” Garrus said thoughtfully, gazing at the destruction around them, “This is actually kind of tame for Shepard.”

Miranda muttered, “It’s no wonder she ended up dead. That any of you stayed with her is unbelievable.”

Garrus shrugged, “You get used to the suicidal orders after awhile.”

Shepard yelled at them, “I heard that! I’m not completely deaf.”

Garrus picked Shepard up and set her on her feet. She batted away his hands with a scowl and shook herself. They had to pick their way carefully through the flaming wreckage to mount the steps and enter the environmental plant. Miranda warned, “There’s bound to be more resistance inside.”

Shepard nodded and they all crept carefully into the building. It was was an oddly empty building, with large columns supporting the high ceilings and second story walkways. It was far larger and far more empty than it needed to be for it’s function. It had probably been repurposed, the entire district could have been built for some other purpose when Omega was a mining station, and been converted into a residential area as the station population grew. Garrus couldn’t immediately identify any equipment used to control the environmental functions.

Shepard looked around watchfully as they advanced. “We need to inject the cure, then get the fans working again.”

Garrus said, “Right.. Complicated plan. What was the second part again?”

Shepard glared at him, “You’re awful mouthy for someone who was coughing up blood not that long ago.”

“Near-death experiences always improve my sense of humor.”

As soon as they stepped into the open space, they heard a screeching vorcha voice from up on one of the elevated walkways.

“You no come here. We shut down machines, break fans. Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong.” The vorcha raised a clenched fist as it railed at Shepard. Garrus couldn’t tell if it were male or female, vorcha all looked the same to him.

Shepard shouted back, “What do the Collectors want?”

“Collectors want plague! You work for doctor, turn on machines, put cure in air. We kill you first!” The vorcha hefted their weapons and immediately opened fire on the group. Garrus pulled Shepard behind the nearest pillar. EDI chose that moment to speak over the comms. “Shepard, I have scanned the room. The central control system is in an alcove in the center of the back wall. You can inject the cure and re-initialize the system there.”

“Copy that, EDI, but there are a lot of vorcha in the way right now.”

The three fought their way through the group of vorcha in the large, open lobby and down the central hallway. Shepard’s biotic abilities were highly effective when she had a long, enclosed space to use as a funnel for shockwaves. She was able to push the vorcha ahead of them until they ran out of corridor. Garrus and Miranda backed down the hallway after her, shooting anyone who tried to follow. The corridor opened up into what was obviously the central environmental control room. Huge machines with an impenetrable number of displays and controls dominated the back wall. Too concerned about damaging the delicate equipment to risk using her firearms, Shepard finished off the remaining vorcha with her biotically enhanced fists.

Shepard consulted EDI on the specifics of the machinery in front of her and finally found a port she could use to insert the cure. Once the cure had been injected into the system, EDI told them, “I have located the fan controls. There are two, one on either side of the room you are in now.”

The first fan proved to be down a corridor similar to the central corridor and they had little trouble handling the group of vorcha who had been stationed to guard that one. Garrus activated the fan controls while Miranda and Shepard dealt with the vorcha.

“First fan is on. Let’s hit the second one and then we can get the hell off of Omega.” Garrus would not be sorry at all to leave the station behind. He’d seen enough of it’s gritty corners for a lifetime.

The second fan proved to be more difficult. They had to pass back through the open lobby and head down some stairs to reach the lower corridor that lead to the second set of controls. The vorcha had taken up position along the upper walkway that formed the ceiling of the lower corridor and they would be completely exposed to their fire if they wanted to enter the stairwell. The vorcha had broken out the grenade launchers and were effectively keeping them pinned down in the doorway with them. Garrus was able to snipe a few of them between grenade volleys, but Shepard’s pistols weren’t effective at this range. She was able to phase through objects using her biotics but she still needed solid ground to run on. She wasn’t going to be able to charge through the open air. Garrus and Miranda worked out a system where she overloaded a grenade launcher to give Garrus a few moments to snipe them, but it was taking too much time. They were starting to feel the effects of an hour without a properly working environmental system and one fan wasn’t enough to get the job done.

Garrus leaned over to Shepard, panting faintly. “You go, we’ll take care of the vorcha. Get that fan started.”

During the next break in the fire, Shepard charged down the stairs. They could hear her breathing heavily over the comms, the sound of her fist hitting vorcha flesh, the short loud bark of her pistol being fired. Then overhead came the sound of the enormous machinery groaning to life again and the quiet, comforting whir of of the fans.

Garrus turned to Miranda and said, “There we go, everyone in the district will be inhaling the cure shortly.”

The vorcha fighting them began howling with rage. Howls that were shortly silenced by a few shots from Garrus’ gun. Shepard came limping up the stairs, tired but triumphant.

 

***

 

“Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done, Shepard. Thank you.”

Shepard was sitting on a gurney in the middle of Mordin’s clinic, irritably allowing the salarian doctor to tend to her wounds. “We’ve cured the plague. Are you ready to help stop the Collectors?”

Mordin stepped back and inspected his work with a critical eye before nodding. “Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises. Just need to finish up here. Won’t take long. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it.”

Mordin waved her off of the gurney and indicated one of the sick patients waiting outside should take her place. Garrus saw that one of the patients was the batarian they’d encountered when they’d first entered the district. Mordin’s assistants had managed to get him back to the clinic after all.

 

They made their way back to the transport station. Already there were signs of life stirring in the district. People who’d been holed up in their homes and businesses were emerging into the streets to survey the damage. The guards Aria had hired to keep the district quarantined had abandoned their posts manning the barricade and were moving through the burning piles in the streets purposefully. Whether they were there to help restore the district to order or to attempt to take and hold the territory for Aria now that the gang war had depopulated the previous tenants wasn’t clear. Garrus had already gotten half a plan to try and halt the new gang from moving in before he was able to halt that train of thought. His squad was gone. There would always be gangs in Omega. It chafed Garrus’ sense of justice, but he knew he had no way to prevent a new gang from moving in to fill the power vacuum. All he could hope was that whoever took over would treat the people fairly.

When they stepped out of the transport station on the other end the guard there was gone. Jacob was still at his post awaiting their return.

“Did you find doctor Solus, Commander?”

Shepard jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the way they’d come. “He’s wrapping up the work at his clinic. He’ll join us shortly.”

Jacob fell in with the three of them as they made their way back to their shuttle.

“What’s he like?”

“He’s.. interesting.”

Garrus added, “Talks a lot.”

Miranda said a little grudgingly, “He’s clearly a brilliant doctor. And he knows something about the Collectors. He’ll be useful to us.”

“Good to hear.”

They rounded a corner, nearing the shuttle port Joker had docked the kodiak at. As they did, they saw a grizzled older human kicking a batarian who was cringing on the floor. When the batarian saw Shepard and her companions come up behind the man, he called out to them, pleading.

“Please, you have to help me.”

The man kicked him savagely. “No one said you could talk, jackass.” The man had a huge scar arcing around one milky white, blind eye, but he studied Shepard with his undamaged brown eye. Shepard accessed a file on her omni-tool, then considered the man for a long moment.

“You Zaeed Massani?”

“Yeah that’s me. You must be Commander Shepard. I hear we have a galaxy to save.”

Shepard nodded. “I assume you’ve been briefed?”

Zaeed shrugged. “I’ve done my homework. Cerberus sent me everything I needed to know.”

Shepard glanced at the batarian still crouched on the floor. “My contacts told me we were picking up one man, not two.”

Zaeed snorted dismissively. “Batarian delinquent. Pissed off someone rich enough to hire me to go after him. And for my ‘Bring him in alive rates’ even.”

The batarian made another attempt to plead with Shepard. “Please, I didn’t do it.”

Zaeed kicked him in the face and he fell silent again.

“I said shut it! Tried to lead me on a chase all over the systems.” Zaeed unholstered his weapon and cycled the thermal clip menacingly. “He should have known better. These people always run to Omega.”

“What’s going to happen to him?”Shepard asked carefully.

“I’m going to turn him in for the bounty. Don’t much care what happens after that.”

Shepard’s lips twitched and curled down slightly. She asked, “What’s your relationship with Cerberus?”

“Easy. Cerberus is paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That’s the long and short.”

“Most mercs wouldn’t take a suicide mission for the pay.”

“Most mercs don’t get an offer like the one Cerberus sent me. This mission doesn’t sound like good business but your Illusive Man can move a lot of credits.”

Shepard offered Zaeed a hand to shake, but when she spoke it sounded like she was grinding her teeth, “Good to have you, Zaeed. We have a lot to do.”

“That’s what they tell me. I assume the Illusive Man told you about our arrangement?”

“No,” Shepard replied, the irritation and sarcasm in her voice unmistakable. “I guess he decided to leave that information out of the dossier.”

Zaeed shook his head. “Good thing I asked. Picked up a mission a little while back just before I signed on with Cerberus. Thought you might be interested. You heard the name Vido Santiago?”

Garrus perked up at the name. To Shepard he said, “He’s the head of the Blue Suns, runs the whole organization.”

Zaeed nodded. “Seems he recently captured a refinery on Zoya and he’s using their workers for slave labor. The company wants it dealt with.”

Shepard promised, “I’ll make sure we get that done.”

“Good, get it out of the way so we can concentrate on being big goddamn heroes.”

The batarian decided this was his chance to make a break for it. He leapt to his feet and attempted to run. He only made it a few steps before Zaeed shot him in the back. He collapsed to the floor.

Zaeed grunted. “Better turn this thing in before it starts to stink.”

Shepard watched the man go, distaste on her face. Garrus sidled up to her and remarked. “Nice people Cerberus is recruiting on your behalf. Do we really have to take him with us?”

Shepard was grim, “I’ve seen what happens to the colonies. I may not like it, but if I’m willing to accept Cerberus’ help, Zaeed’s crimes are petty in comparison. I’ll take all the help I can get.”

 

They waited in the shuttle port until Zaeed returned from dropping off the dead batarian for the bounty. A short while later, Mordin arrived and they all boarded the shuttle. With Mordin and Zaeed on board it was considerably more crowded than on the trip down. Shepard was clustered with Mordin and the two Cerberus operatives in the bow so they could brief the salarian doctor.

Jacob told Mordin, “The Collectors are abducting humans out in the fringes of Terminus space.”

Mordin replied, “Not simple abductions, wouldn’t need me for simple.”

That left Garrus and Zaeed together, each eying the other with mutual, professional suspicion.

Zaeed finally asked Garrus, “Got a problem?”

Garrus replied, “So.. Going after the Blue Suns, it’s just another job?”

Zaeed spit, “Not going after all of ‘em. Just Vido. Don’t much care about the workers if I’m bein’ honest.”

Jacob continued on the other end of the shuttle, “Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There’s no sign of any kind of attack. There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all.. Except every man, woman and child is gone.

Mordin mused, “Gas maybe? No. Spreads too slow..”

Garrus told Zaeed, “Well I’m more than happy to help. They just tried to kill me.”

Zaeed grunted, “You got good taste in enemies.”

“..Airborne virus? No, slower than gas..”

Shepard finally interrupted the doctor’s monologue. “You don’t have to sit there and guess. We collected samples from one of the colonies.”

Garrus asked, “What happened to your eye?”

“Someone shot me in the head,” Zaeed answered shortly. “What happened to your face?”

“Rocket launcher. Tarok wasn’t my biggest fan.”

Shepard was still talking to Mordin, “I’d like you to analyze them and figure out how the Collectors did this.”

Mordin nodded, “Yes, of course. Analyze the samples.”

Zaeed laughed at that, “Tarok, that old bastard. How is he?”

“Dead.”

“Shame.”

“Yeah, I’m not broken up about it.”

“Suppose he had it coming.”

“Hey guys?” Joker interrupted. “Trying to fly the ship up here. Can we keep it down back there?”

Zaeed rolled his good eye. “Pilot’s pretty touchy, in’t he.”

“Tell me about it.”

 


	4. Gone Quiet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and crew get a new lead on their enemy and reunite with an old friend on Horizon.

“Got a minute?”

Garrus pushed himself out from under the panel he was working on in engineering to see Shepard standing over him.

“Sure, just installing those upgrades to the weapons systems we talked about. You can never be too careful.”

Garrus stood up and stretched, joking, “I thought I had seen every weapon in the galaxy during our fight against Saren. Mercenary work showed me otherwise. Now Cerberus rebuilds the Normandy with a few upgrades to boot. I wish we’d joined up with them sooner.”

“We haven’t joined Cerberus. They’re funding our mission. That’s all,” Shepard replied stiffly, looking pointedly at Engineers Donelly and Daniels who were working with him on the weapons.

Garrus raised his hands defensively and said soothingly, “Relax, Shepard. Just a figure of speech.”

Shepard jerked her head towards the inner engine room, indicating she wanted to speak to him privately. Garrus followed her into the massive chamber that housed the drive core. It stretched up nearly the entire height of the ship in order to accommodate the huge new drive core. Garrus had been impressed with the original Normandy’s experimental Tantalus drive core, which had been nearly twice the size of any drive core previously designed, but the Cerberus model made that one look like a toy. If there was any one thing that convinced Garrus that Cerberus had the resources to handle a threat as large as the Collectors, it was this engine. Sure, bringing Shepard back to life had to have been a massively expensive endeavor but just looking at her, there was no real way to tell how much. He knew how much time and money the joint Alliance-Hierarchy project had invested making the older, smaller drive core. Putting together a new engine, using entirely new technology, that performed even more efficiently to operate the considerably larger new version of the Normandy in less than two years? That was a technological feat that beggared the imagination.

Shepard leaned against the control panel in the room and looked up at the engine tensely. Garrus could see from the displays that the stealth system had been engaged and the engine was operating at top speed.

“I take it we’re on our way somewhere dangerous in a hurry.”

Shepard nodded. “The Illusive Man sent word that one of our human colonies in the Terminus Systems just went dark. No communications are going in or out. He thinks it’s a sign that the Collectors are either there already or will be shortly. We’re on our way now, hopefully we’ll be in time to do something about it.”

“I suppose saying, ‘Finally!’ is heartless, but I was getting restless out here, waiting for them to make a move.”

Shepard smiled grimly. “I’m sure the colonists would rather _not_ be attacked by the Collectors, but you’re right. Without a way to get through the Omega-4 relay and engage them directly, waiting around for them to come to us was our only play.” She drummed her fingers rapidly on the console. “I _hate_ waiting.”

“So what’s bothering you?”

Shepard shifted restlessly. “The Illusive Man said Ashley is stationed there.”

“Chief Williams? I haven’t kept track of her but I thought she was still with the Alliance?”

Shepard nodded. “She is. The Illusive Man said she was part of some outreach program to improve relations between the colonies and the Alliance. But I asked Anderson about her—about all of you—when I first woke up.” She clenched her jaw briefly “He wouldn’t tell me anything. Said it was classified.”

Shepard folded her arms and tapped one of her stubby human fingers against her forearm. “Something is going on here. An outreach program wouldn’t be classified. And Ash is far too skilled a soldier to be sent to push papers and hold the hands of some colonists.”

Garrus snorted. “Can you imagine Ashley holding _anyone’s_ hands? She’s not exactly the diplomatic type.”

“That is part of what bothers me.”

“So what do you think is going on?”

Shepard shook her head in frustration. “I don’t know. But I don’t like it. It seems far too convenient that the first Collector attack we’ve gotten prior notice of just happens to be where one of _my_ former crew is currently stationed.

“Do you think she’s been targeted?”

“The Illusive Man knows more than he’s saying. He says I shouldn’t be surprised that the Collectors would be interested in me if they’re involved with the Reapers as we believe they are.” She looked at Garrus, the expression on her face serious. “Someone is playing a game here. I just can’t tell which side.”

Garrus laid a hand on her shoulder. “We can’t worry about that. But we _can_ get some big guns and go shoot something.”

Shepard laughed and touched the hand on her shoulder. “You know just what to say to cheer a girl up, Garrus.”

 

***

 

The Normandy dropped into the Iera system from the mass relay’s transit corridor with the stealth drive engaged and the fingers of every crew member crossed. They knew their stealth system would keep them undetectable to any scanning technology they knew about, but the Collectors were an enigma. No one knew what technologies they had at their disposal. Also the stealth drive was useless against the low-tech tactic of simply looking out the window. Most ships relied on their scanners though, so the drive was highly effective under most circumstances. Joker plotted an evasive trajectory through the system, attempting to keep their approach as circumspect as possible. They could detect where the Collector ship was in orbit around the planet and they circled around to the far side of the planet before launching Shepard and her team in the kodiak.

They landed near the outskirts of the colony, behind a large, rocky hill in the hopes of keeping their landing site concealed from any troops in the colony. Shepard didn’t even allow the shuttle to land on the surface of Horizon before she jumped out, Garrus and Miranda close behind her. She waved the shuttle off, indicating it should return to the Normandy. They couldn’t risk the shuttle being captured or shot down, leaving them stranded on the planet with the Collectors. Behind them in the distance Garrus could see the massive Collector ship. Garrus couldn’t understand how a ship that large had been able to land on a planet in the first place. It had a central ring structure with a long straight segment bisecting it, one end partly buried in the earth, the other stretching vertically into the sky. It was several orders of magnitude taller than any of the buildings in the colony. A strange organic substance covered parts of it, almost like molten rock had flowed over its surface and hardened. An eerie storm cloud swirled around the top of the ship, Garrus couldn’t tell if it was natural or if the ship was somehow causing it. Perhaps the storm was how the Collectors were disrupting communications? The clouds cast a pall over the colony, and served to enhance the effect of the occasional lightning bolt that arced across the sky.

They grouped into a defensive formation, Shepard taking point. They rounded the hill and marched towards the colony proper. The colony had been built into an area with very rocky, uneven terrain. The ground rose and fell in a series of hillocks and gullies, generally moving downhill into a more protected valley. The local fauna closely resembled some earth species of deciduous trees and the grass was a golden yellow. The air was filled with the drone of insects. Garrus saw there were a number of large insects the size of his fist flying lazily through the air around them. The data Cerberus had gathered from the other colony attacks had revealed the Collectors’ biological weapons were some sort of paralytic insect Mordin had dubbed seeker swarms. They weren’t actually biological in nature, though. Instead they were devices engineered to _look_ like insects. Garrus thought they were creepy no matter what they were and the sound made him instinctively hunch his shoulders slightly.

Shepard activated her comms and reported in, “We’re groundside. Mordin, are you sure those upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?”

Mordin’s voice crackled over their headsets. “Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms.” He paused a beat. “In theory. “

Garrus marked that pause with some alarm. Any slight hesitation in Mordin’s rapid fire pace was worth worrying over, and worry usually made him resort to sarcasm. “In theory? That sounds promising.”

“Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Looking forward to seeing if you survive!” The doctor was positively cheerful at the prospect of testing the results of his theory. Garrus was a lot less enthusiastic about any test where his death was a possible outcome.

The Collector insects seemed to be flying aimlessly, completely disinterested in Shepard and her party. Whatever Mordin had done seemed to be working. They continued moving through the outskirts of the colony, watchful for any sign of colonist or Collector. The colony had been built out of a number of modular, pre-fabricated units, all grey metal with red stripes along the tops. Buildings were essentially just stacks of pre-fabbed pods arranged next to each other or stacked up and welded together. Settlements like this could be thrown together in a matter of days, but the result was a settlement devoid of any personality that felt temporary at best. To someone like Shepard who’d spent her life on one starship after another, with brief stints on space stations, these sorts of living arrangements probably seemed pretty luxurious with so much open space. Garrus had spent plenty of time on starships and space stations, but his formative years had been spent on his species’ planet of origin, Palaven. And except for being a station in space, the Citadel barely qualified as one. It had it’s own, complex ecosystem. The presidium had vast lakes, flowering trees and other types of greenery everywhere. The wards were more industrial but so large and urban, they felt like an endless city more than a space station.

Garrus saw that there were large anti-aircraft guns positioned at strategic intervals along the tops of the ridges throughout the colony. The guns looked newer than the rest of the buildings and some of them were still in the process of being installed. All of them were silent and showed no signs of having been fired. Whatever the Collectors had done to the communications tower shouldn’t have knocked out all of the guns as well, assuming they’d even been functional before the Collectors arrived.

 

They hadn’t gone far before they made contact with the enemy. There was a large group of aliens the likes of which Garrus had never seen before standing in the space between the next cluster of structures. They had four eyes like the batarians and were bipedal, but that was where the resemblance ended. Their large heads had a wedge-like shape, flat in front with almost no discernible facial features, and tapered to a distinct occipital point. In addition to the two arms they were using to hold weapons, they had two smaller, apparently vestigial limbs.

So these were the Collectors. They chirped and chittered creepily among themselves as they stood waiting for.. what? Shepard had said there had been no signs of resistance at any of the other vanished colonies and that appeared to be the case here as well. Garrus heard no gunfire, saw no one fighting. He saw no humans in this part of the colony at all, and yet here they were, standing guard?

Garrus turned to Shepard and asked quietly, “Get the feeling they’re expecting us?”

Shepard nodded. “Let’s not disappoint them.”

Garrus got into position behind a crate and lined up a shot on one of the bigger specimens. He waited until Shepard gave the signal, then fired. The Collector dropped to the ground and the rest of the soldiers turned to his position with an angry buzz. They killed a few of them before the Collectors in the rear turned their weapons on them. Thin beams of light arced out of the barrels of their guns and cut through the air. They sliced through Garrus’ shield and singed one shoulder of his armor before he ducked back behind his cover. The acrid smell of burning metal filled the air as the beams hit the wall of the building behind them. Particle beams? The amount of energy required to create a concentrated beam was so high that a hand-held weapon was impossible to build. Or so he’d thought. The beams had them pinned behind their cover, no breaks to reload overheated thermal clips to help them. Based on how quickly they had destroyed his shielding, taking a hit while he tried to fire was too risky. He could see the faint glow of biotic barriers around these soldiers and cursed.

Shepard holstered her pistol and cracked her knuckles. “Guess I’m up. Miranda, warp their barriers when I break through their fire.”

Miranda muttered under her breath, “Oh here we go.”

Shepard phased through the metal crates of their cover and charged one of the Collectors wielding the beams. She was far too fast for them to target before she collided with one, knocking it off its feet. The others turned, but she leapt aside as they swept their beams towards her. A well-placed shockwave blew the rest of them back and kept them off balance enough that they couldn’t target her. Shepard darted between soldiers, using her biotics to keep moving. She wasn’t doing much damage, but she was able to keep them occupied while Miranda and Garrus worked in tandem to bring them down, one at a time. Miranda would destroy the barriers of one for Garrus to to target with his rifle. The Collectors fought ferociously, but he’d seen even the notoriously stupid vorcha fight with more sophistication. They seemed to fight more as a swarm than a coordinated group.

After they’d dispatched the last of the Collectors there was a crackling boom in the sky. Garrus looked up at the clouds swirling darkly overhead. Thunder? Was it his imagination or was the storm getting worse? A bright flash of lightning lit up the sky for a few seconds and was followed almost immediately by another rolling boom of thunder. The storm was definitely getting closer.

Static crackled over their comms and they heard Joker’s voice saying, “Comman… ..tting all kinds… ..ference. We can’t mainta..” The static garbled his words as he faded in and out.

Miranda said, “The Collectors are blocking communications.”

Shepard replied, “We’re on our own now.”

They continued along their path, moving towards the central cluster of buildings. They started to see more signs of human habitation—abandoned tools, a picnic table set with full glasses—but still no people. Instead there were more Collectors. This group wasn’t standing around waiting to be attacked. There were armed soldiers acting as an escort for some workers. The workers were transporting large, oblong pods, pushing them along using anti-grav handtrucks. They didn’t even look up when Shepard opened fire, they ignored her and continued steadily around some buildings and out of sight. The soldiers broke off their escort to return Shepard’s fire.

Shepard yelled over the din, “Keep them busy, I’m going after those workers.”

Garrus traded sniper rifle for assault rifle and laid down a volley of suppressive fire, dropping the nearest Collector to the ground and the rest into cover. The Collector on the ground was still alive and reached for Shepard as she ran past, but she dodged him and the fire from his fellows. She’d almost made it to the buildings where they’d last seen the workers when she was swarmed. Fast, dark humanoid shapes ran from the direction the workers had gone and jumped on Shepard, pummeling her with their fists. Garrus abandoned his position and ran, heedless of Miranda’s shouts and of the Collector fire. His shields took a barrage of bullets but they held, barely, until he reached the writhing pile of bodies. Shepard was kicking her attackers wildly but there were too many crowding her, she wasn’t able to get much force into each blow. Garrus wrenched one of the creatures off of her and felt a surge of revulsion as he looked into its skeletal face. It’s eyes stared back at Garrus, dull and senseless, and glowing with an eerie blue light. Its entire body was twined with wires that all emitted the same light. The smell was nauseating, all decomposing, burning flesh. Garrus thrust it away from him reflexively and kicked its knees. As it fell to the ground, he stomped its head with his boots and the skull exploded with a wet gush. He turned back to Shepard and clawed at another body, trying to swallow the rising horror. Shepard had managed to wrench herself out of the press of bodies and roll to her feet. She shuffled towards him and they put their backs together as they used their fists. Shepard knocked the last one to the ground and shot it, point blank, with her pistol. They both swayed on their feet, shaky from fatigue and adrenaline. Garrus looked around to find the rest of the Collector soldiers were already dead. Garrus nodded at Miranda when she joined them.

“Impressive, Lawson.”

Miranda’s lips barely twitched into a begrudging smile, but since it was the friendliest Miranda had managed to be with him up until then, Garrus would take it. Maybe he was wearing her down.

Shepard nudged the remains of one creature with her booted foot. “Those things look like the husks the geth used on Eden Prime,” she said.

Garrus frowned and asked, “I thought the geth got that technology from Sovereign?

“The Illusive Man was correct. The Collectors are agents of the Reapers,” Miranda said grimly.

Shepard knelt to get a closer look at the husks, she gestured at the complicated wiring inside their bodies. “These are more advanced than they were on Eden Prime though. Evolved.”

Garrus growled, “They still die if you shoot them.” He felt sick as he looked at the bodies. “These things used to be human,” he said. “This is what’s left of the colonists?” The Horizon colony had been home to _hundreds_ of people.

Miranda shook her head and said, “No, on Eden Prime victims were turned into husks by impaling them on spikes. We haven’t seen any. The Collectors must have brought the husks. They’re taking the colonists for something else.”

Shepard replied, “The Collectors might be experimenting on the colonists. What are they up to?”

Garrus wasn’t sure which was more horrifying, the idea that there were hundreds of people who’d been turned into husks, or that the Collectors had something potentially even worse in store for them. “Maybe it’s better not to know the details.”

Miranda replied, “The only way to find out is to stop them.”

Shepard got to her feet and squared her shoulders. “The Collectors aren’t getting away with more victims. Let’s move out.”

They went in the direction they’d seen the last group of Collector depart. They didn’t see the group Shepard had attempted to follow, but they did find more of the pods they’d been moving. There were rows and rows of them, some leaning vertically against the buildings, others side by side on the ground. They were oblong, maybe two meters long, a meter wide and deep. They were mostly a dark, opaque material except for a rounded, translucent red window at one end. A few of the pods laying on the ground were open, revealing an empty chamber inside them. They bore a resemblance to hypersleep compartments, only far more gruesome.

A methodical search of all the buildings in the immediate vicinity turned up nothing. They passed through silent kitchens, some with food still on the tables. They found unmade beds and dirty laundry and all the other signs of an inhabited colony. Except for the inhabitants.

After the fifth empty structure Garrus turned to Miranda and said, “All these empty buildings.. It’s unsettling.”

Miranda nodded in agreement. “Just like Freedom’s Progress. The entire colony.. gone.”

Shepard leafed through one of the open books on the low table next to the sofa. “Everything is exactly where they left it. No signs of a struggle. The seeker swarms must be very effective.”

The next building they searched appeared to be a warehouse, it was crowded with rows of storage crates. As Garrus turned to squeeze through the narrow spaces between crates he was suddenly face to face with a human. He almost shouted in surprise as he reflexively brought his weapon to bear. The man didn’t move, he didn’t twitch a muscle or bat an eye, no movement at all. The man was half crouched behind a wall of crates, his body turned slightly to try and peer around the crate. It wasn’t a position his muscles should have been able to sustain for long without moving, but he was completely frozen.

“Shepard, found something.”

The women broke off from their search to look at the colonist. Garrus picked up the thermos of coffee on the crate next to him. It was still warm. The sight of it was so absurd, Garrus felt an inappropriate laugh start to bubble up in his chest and had to suppress it. The empty colony had been bad, but this was so much worse.

Miranda had her omni-tool out and was scanning the man as Shepard tried and failed to move his limbs. Her voice was detached and clinical as she described the readings. “Seems to be some kind of stasis field. It keeps you conscious, but completely helpless.”

Shepard abandoned her attempts to move the man and moved away regretfully. “They’ve been like this for awhile. Best we can do now is drive off the Collectors and hope Mordin can help them later.”

The man in the warehouse was only the first immobilized colonist they found. As they continued through the colony they began finding more and more. One colonist was fleeing down a staircase from the upper level of housing units, there was a woman laying on the ground with a man bending over to help her up. The fear on their faces was clear. The knot of sickness and horror in Garrus’ gut tightened with every frozen human they passed. He tried to focus on the fact that them being there meant the Collectors hadn’t taken them yet, that each human they passed was someone they could possibly save. It helped, but not much.

Where they found small groups of Collectors they eliminated them. Garrus thought it was odd that there were so many small, scattered groups continuing to work while others fought them. He kept expecting a concerted attack but it never came. They’d moved into a more densely built up section of the colony, these structures had an air of permanence that the residential section had lacked. The buildings were more industrial in nature, and Garrus guessed this had been the first area constructed. One huge building was even partially dug into the ground. More curiously, the door indicator glowed the steady red that meant it was locked—the first locked door they’d encountered in the colony. He and Miranda took up positions on either side of the door, their weapons ready, as Shepard bypassed the lock with her omni-tool.

Inside they found a room packed with power generators. As they came down the ramp from the doorway they heard a scuffle from inside the generator array. Shepard put up one hand and halted.

“Company,”Shepard said quietly.

They moved silently towards the source of the sound and Garrus thought he saw a flash of movement between two of the generators, whatever it was moving deeper into the shadows.

“Get out here. Now!”

A scared human male crept out in response to Shepard’s command. They quickly holstered their weapons to show they weren’t hostile. The man stared at them for a moment, his mouth agape. “You’re human!” His relief was quickly replaced with agitation. “What are you doing out here, you’ll lead them right here!” he hissed at them.

Shepard frowned at him, “They already know you’re in here, you had to hear them trying to get in. Seems it’s hard to hide from the Collectors.”

The man started to pace back and forth. “Those things are Collectors? You mean.. They’re real? I thought they were just made up. You know—propaganda. To keep us in Alliance space. No! They got Lilith. I saw her go down. Sten too. They got damn near everybody.”

“Calm down, take it easy,” Shepard said soothingly. “Who are you? What do you do here?”

The man took a few deep breaths before he answered, “Name’s Delan. Mechanic. I came down to check on the main grid after we lost our comm signal. Then I heard screaming. I looked outside and there was.. Swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I sealed the doors. Damn it—it’s the Alliance’s fault! They built those defense towers. It made us a target!”

“The Collectors are targeting remote colonies. I’m sure the Alliance was trying to help,” Shepard replied.

Delan scowled. “I don’t want their help. Too many strings attached. That rep said she was just here to get the towers online, but mark my words, there’s more to it.

Shepard ignored the man’s suspicion and continued her questioning. “Tell me more about this Alliance rep.”

“Chief Williams? Heard she was some kind of hero or something. Didn’t mean nothing to me, though. Would’ve rather she just stayed back in Council Space.”

Garrus saw Shepard tense slightly at the mention of Ashely’s name, but she gave no other sign of it’s significance. She only said, “Any idea what she was doing on Horizon?”

“Supposed to be helping us get the defense towers up and running.” Delan shrugged. “I got the feeling she was here for something else. Spying on us, maybe.”

Garrus and Shepard exchanged a quick glance. Seemed they weren’t the only ones suspicious about Ashely’s presence here.

Garrus said to Delan, “If you have defenses we can use them against the Collector ship.”

“You’d need to calibrate the targeting system first. It’s never worked right..” Delan started to get agitated again as he gestured at the array of generators. “We had to build this huge underground generator to power the things but the Alliance sent us a gun that can’t shoot straight.”

Miranda said impatiently, “Just tell us where to find the targeting system. We can figure it out.”

“Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. Pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base.”

Shepard gestured for Garrus and Miranda to start heading in the direction Delan had indicated, then she turned back to the man and said, “It’s probably just better if you stay out of the way.”

Delan folded his arms. “Yeah that’s what I was thinking too. I’ll let you out but I’m locking the door behind you.”

Once they were outside and Delan had locked the doors behind them Garrus couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “Nice guy. Real friendly.”

“They’re not overly fond of the Alliance in the Terminus Systems.” Shepard stopped and worry creased her brow. “I haven’t seen any sign of Ash. Do you think the Collectors took her already?”

“We’ll find her, Shepard.”

Shepard flashed him a quick smile. “Not if we don’t get those defense towers online, fast.” She turned to jog towards the main transmitter and he followed.

 

The buildings in this section of the colony were close together, the path they had to traverse was narrow and circuitous, sometimes the only way forward was to detour through the buildings themselves. Garrus kept expecting to see Collectors around every corner but they encountered no one.

Garrus remarked, “It’s odd we haven’t run into any more frozen colonists.”

“The Collectors have already loaded them onto their ship,” Miranda replied. “We’re running out of time.”

That thought made them all run a little faster.

The densely packed buildings abruptly lead into a more open area. The buildings were newer, and there were other signs of recent construction. Stacks of crates and metal canisters of fuel for welding torches were stacked in the spaces between buildings. In the very center of the large open area was the tall spire of the transmitter. It was clear from the abandoned equipment and open crates that the colonists had been in the midst of repairs when the Collectors attacked. They were picking their way carefully through the mess of construction when Garrus heard gunfire. Miranda shouted, “They’re behind us!”

He looked up to see the largest force of Collectors yet come swarming out of the buildings. They couldn’t have picked a better place for an ambush, there was very little cover in the open area around the transmitter. Garrus cursed himself for not considering the possibility that they may have left a force here to watch for anyone attempting to repair the transmitter, it was an obvious place. The Collectors had shown such poor tactical sense in previous battles, but they couldn’t be as disorganized as they seemed given how efficiently they’d disabled all of the colonies they’d attacked.

One of the Collector drones paused in its advance and curled slightly in on itself as cracks of light spread across its body.

“I will direct this personally. Assuming direct control,” a deep voice intoned as the Collector rose into the air and shook. There was a flash of light and it dropped to its feet once more. Aside from the glowing cracks there was no obvious physical difference, but it moved.. differently. Somehow there was more intention. The rhythm of the fight changed, the tactics of the fighters were suddenly more coherent.

“You cannot stop us, Shepard. We are the harbinger of your destiny.”

The Collectors they’d encountered before had been silent. Garrus definitely did not appreciate the change.

They took cover in the crates along the outside edge of the open space, but the Collectors had the superior position on the second story of the buildings. Several groups of Collector drones took turns firing at Shepard and her companions while the others changed thermal clips. It kept them hemmed in behind their cover while the glowing Collector glided towards them lobbing balls of flame, singeing the metal of the crates badly.

“This hurts you, Shepard. Your form is fragile,” it goaded them haughtily.

The open space between them and the transmitter was too dangerous to traverse. Every time they were able to break the lines of Collector fire long enough to move positions, a group of husks would sally out of a building to herd them back into cover again. The husks were weak but they were almost too fast to shoot, a group of them could dart between the stacks of crates and be on them before there was time to do much more than drop their weapons and use their fists to defend themselves. Shepard was able to take out entire groups with her shockwaves if there was enough open ground between them, but more often than not they came from multiple directions at once, one group would sacrifice themselves so another could get close. It was a primitive form of attack, but effective.

They were able to carefully edge their way towards the transmitter but their progress was slow, and the Collectors gained ground more quickly. The glowing Collector’s attacks were particularly relentless and entirely focused on Shepard. Garrus and Miranda were left to defend her against the rest of the Collector forces while Shepard focused on avoiding the flames.

The glowing Collector pronounced, “My attacks will tear you apart. You will know pain, Shepard.”

Garrus was really starting to hate that guy.

Shepard was evidentially thinking the same thing because she growled, “Can someone shut that jackass up?”

Garrus watched it as it glided towards one of the stacks of construction supplies and had an idea. He aimed carefully and waited until the right moment.

“Gladly.”

Garrus fired a shot from his sniper rifle past the Collector and into one of the metal canisters behind him. It exploded in a glorious gout of flame when his bullet punctured the canister and oxygen ignited the welding fuel, catching the glowing Collector in the blast.

It declared, “This body does not matter,” as it burned to ash.

The remaining Collectors milled around disoriented upon the death of the glowing Collector. Miranda and Shepard took full advantage, killing them quickly with their combined biotics. Garrus and Miranda rushed towards the transmitter as soon as the Collectors were dead, but Shepard stopped to scoop up one of the dropped beam weapons.

“Huh,” she said, “Near as I can tell this one’s still got a mostly full charge. I’ll take it.”

Trust Shepard to get sidetracked by shiny guns. He wished he’d thought to take one himself.

When he got to the transmitter Garrus yanked open the panel and connected his omni-tool. Shepard crowded behind him impatiently and asked, “Can you fix it?”

“Relax Shepard. I can fix the errors in the calibration software easily. But those defense towers are going to take time to power up and I don’t think we’ll be able to hide it from the Collectors.”

Miranda looked over his shoulder and her eyes widened. “I think they know already.”

Garrus looked and saw more Collectors pouring down the stairs and coming towards them. He started to lift his weapon but Shepard stopped him. “We have to get the towers online. They’re just going to keep coming until we do.”

“I’m not going to sit here pushing buttons while you get shot at.”

“Calibrations are your thing, Garrus. Mine is hitting things.”

Garrus swore at Shepard’s back as she ran to engage the oncoming Collectors. He turned back to the transmitter tower and started working feverishly. He tried not to look up as bullets whizzed past and trust Miranda and Shepard to handle the enemy.

“You are arrogant Shepard, you will learn.”

Garrus did look up from his work at the sound of that voice. He saw another one of those glowing Collectors. The voice sounded the same. How could it be the same one? He watched Shepard try his same trick, she used her biotics to blow it into one of the metal canisters before shooting it with her pistol and exploding it. Again, the Collector was engulfed in flames.

“You only delay the inevitable,” it said as it died again.

Up on the second story he saw a third Collector rise into the air and watched glowing cracks spread across its surface.

“Assuming control of this form.”

Shepard yelled, “Are you kidding me?”

Garrus realized that these glowing Collectors weren’t unique entities. There was some other entity elsewhere controlling the Collectors, augmenting their abilities as it.. possessed them? They could kill it over and over again, and it would keep coming back. Now he was really pissed off. When he killed something, he expected it to _stay dead_.

Garrus ground his teeth in frustration as he continued working through the error-ridden system. Who the hell had programmed this in the first place? He was almost done, but that was only the first step to getting the defense towers back online. He worked quickly to repatch the transmitter’s communications array. As soon as he did, a familiar voice sounded over the comms, weak and staticky, “Joker here. Commander, do you copy?”

Garrus wasn’t sure he’d ever been as glad to hear Joker’s voice. Since Shepard was occupied by trying to stay alive, he responded, “Signal’s weak, but we’ve got you. EDI, can you get the colony’s defense towers online?”

“By-passing fail safes and beginning emergency power up. Please stand by.”

Garrus unholstered his weapon gratefully. Standing around while Shepard did all the real work was definitely not his style. He saw Miranda crouched behind some crates nearby, and Shepard was out in the open on the other side of the field. She was just finishing a biotic charge at one of the glowing Collectors who was still droning on about being the harbinger of their destiny as she shot it in the head with her pistol. She hadn’t yet turned to see the Collector armed with another of those particle beams coming up behind her. He cycled in one of his special concussive rounds and hit the Collector, staggering it as it’s biotic barriers collapsed. He reloaded his standard rounds quickly and shot again while it was still stunned.

“One less to worry about,”he shouted.

Shepard laughed and shouted back, “Show off.”

EDI announced serenely, “Sequential power up initiated. GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 40%. Please hold the defense tower.”

Easier said than done. The Collectors kept steady pressure on them and the fighting flowed around the open space around the transmitter. It was a race between how quickly EDI could arm the defense tower and the Collector’s attempts to kill them. Shepard mainly focused on stalling tactics. She kept moving, forcing the enemies to follow, always keeping close enough to the defense tower that Miranda and Garrus could take a more protected position there and defend it.

“GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 60%. Syncing controls to Normandy’s systems.”

Just as EDI finished speaking Garrus saw a dark shape flying towards them from the Collector’s ship. His heart sank as its shadow fell over them. It looked exactly like one of the seeker swarm bugs except, oh, a thousand times larger. It landed on the ground with an ear-piercing screech.

“EDI,” Shepard said urgently, “We need that system online!”

The creature scuttled after Shepard with it’s remarkably swift six-legged gait and attacked, dual particle beams erupting from it’s eyes. It was swathed in the purple glow that indicated it was protected biotically. Miranda was able to destroy its barriers but when Garrus fired at it, he saw his bullets had little effect. The damn thing was armored as well. Garrus was cycling to his incendiary ammo when another biotic barrier snapped up around the Collector.

“Shit,” Miranda cursed. “It regenerates fast.”

“GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 100%. I have control. Firing anti-ship batteries at Collector vessel.”

Garrus heard the sound of the massive guns rotating to target the Collector vessel. He didn’t have the leisure to watch however as the buzzing Collector was still angrily attacking them. It hovered in the air using its particle beams to torch every piece of cover Shepard tried to duck behind. He kept up a barrage of fire in an attempt to distract it long enough for Shepard to escape but it didn’t seem at all phased by his attack, it pursued Shepard with a relentless fervor.

“Well maybe it’d like a taste of it’s own medicine,” Shepard retorted. She charged away from the creature, phasing through the wall of one of the buildings and disappearing from sight. She reappeared in the window, the large particle beam she’d picked up lifted to her shoulder and she fired. A searing white beam cut through the air and struck the flying Collector, slicing through its biotics and armor as easily as it had through their own. The Collector shrieked and recoiled from the attack. Garrus and Miranda pressed their own attacks and finally the huge creature’s armor cracked under the force.

They were nearly deafened by the sound of the anti-ship batteries as they all fired on the Collector ship. They looked up to see fiery explosions as the rounds thudded into the hull. The ground rumbled and shook and they were all thrown down as the engines roared and the Collector ship shook itself free of the earth.

“They’re pulling out,” Miranda said. “They wanted the colonists and now they’ve got them.”

Garrus got shakily to his feet watched as the engines lit the entire sky with a burning orange light and the Collector ship receded into the distance.

“No! Don’t let them get away!” Delan was racing down the hill towards them.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Shepard said. “They’re gone.”

Delan paced with helpless frustration, staring up at the sky where the Collector ship was fast disappearing from sight. “Half the colony is in there,” he railed. “They took Egan and Sam and.. Lilith.” He turned to Shepard angrily. “Do something!”

“I didn’t want it to end this way. I did what I could.”

“More than most, Shepard.” Garrus stepped up behind her and touched her her arm. He raised his voice so Delan could hear him clearly, “More than the guy who just hid in his hole the entire time.”

Delan had stilled at the mention of her name. “Shepard? Wait. I know that name.” He paused, then said, “Sure I remember you. You’re some type of Alliance hero.”

“Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy,” a new voice said. They all turned to see a dark-haired soldier coming around from behind one of the nearby buildings. She wore the same white and red armor she’d worn the last time Garrus had seen her. Ashley continued to list Shepard’s accomplishments as she closed the distance between them.

“The first human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel. You’re the in presence of a god, Delan.” She stared at Shepard, wonder on her face. “Back from the dead.”

Delan ruined the moment by grousing, “All the good people we lost and you get left behind? Figures. Screw this, I’m done with you Alliance types.” He made a dismissive gesture and walked away, muttering under his breath with disgust. Garrus was glad to see her, even if Delan disagreed.

Ashley reached out a hand to Shepard and waited. It took Shepard a long moment, but she finally grasped Ashley’s hand and shook it.

“I thought you were dead,” Ashley said with a slight quaver in her voice. “Commander. We all did.”

Shepard smiled a crooked smile and said, “It’s been too long, Ash. How’ve you been?”

“That’s it?” Ashley dropped Shepard’s hand and stared at her. Garrus groaned inwardly. Shepard was so _bad_ at this sort of thing sometimes.

“You show up after two years and act like nothing’s happened?” Ashely asked, hurt in her voice. Garrus winced in sympathy. Still, she could stand to cut Shepard a _little_ slack.

Ashley seemed to be in no mood to cut anyone slack. “I would have followed you _anywhere,_ Commander. I thought you were gone.. I.. “ She paused, overcome by emotion. “You were more than our Commander. Why didn’t you try to contact me?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you let me know you were alive?”

“Not my choice. I was in some kind of coma for the last two years while Cerberus rebuilt me.”

Ashely stepped back, a look of disgust coming into her face.

“You’re with Cerberus now? Garrus too? So the reports were true?”

“Reports? So much for security,” Miranda said dryly.

The glare Ashley gave Miranda should have seared her to the bone. To Shepard, she said, “Alliance intel said Cerberus could be behind our missing colonies. We got a tip that this one could be the next to get hit. I went to Anderson but he wouldn’t talk.”

Shepard snorted. Ashley ignored her interruption. “But there were rumors that you weren’t dead. Worse; that you were working for the enemy.”

Shepard scowled and anger to match Ashley’s seeped into her voice, “I didn’t choose to have them bring me back, but Cerberus and I want the same thing—to save our colonies. Accepting their help doesn’t mean I answer to them.” Shepard gestured emphatically.

“Do you really believe that?” Ashley asked incredulously. “I wanted to believe you were alive.. I just never expected anything like _this_.”

“Like _what?_ ” Shepard shot back. “The Alliance has turned their back on these colonies. Cerberus is the only group willing to do something about it!”

“Bullshit! I know what Cerberus is like.” Ashley pointed at Miranda, her voice filled with derision. “They talk about putting humans first, but at what cost?”

Ashley turned back to Shepard. “You’ve turned your back on everything we stood for!” She shook with anger. “You betrayed the Alliance.. Anderson.. You betrayed me.”

Shepard took an almost imperceptible step backwards. Garrus only noticed because he was standing so close to her that he felt her back brush against his chest. He could see her shoulders hunch ever so slightly under the weight of Ashley’s accusations. His own temper started to rise.

“Betrayed _Anderson?_ You’re not the only one he refused to talk to.” Shepard clenched her teeth and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly and tried again, more reasonably, “Ash, you know me. You know I’d only do this for the right reason. You saw it yourself!” She gestured to the empty colony all around them. “The Collectors are targeting _human_ colonies, and they’re working with the Reapers.”

Ashley shook her head and said, “I’d like to believe you, Shepard. But I don’t trust Cerberus, and it worries me that you do. What did they do to you? What if they’re behind it? What if they’re the ones working with the Collectors?”

Garrus had heard just about enough. “Dammit, Williams! You’re so focused on Cerberus that you’re ignoring the real threat! And since when did you get so precious about pro-human organizations? I would have thought you’d agree with them.”

Ashley sneered at him, “I’m no fan of aliens, Garrus, but Cerberus has a history of being extremist. I’ll never work for a group like that. I can’t believe _you_ do. Don’t they despise you?”

Garrus folded his arms. “No worse than you did when we first met.” Ashley flinched guiltily as his barb struck home. “And I go where Shepard goes. It’s called loyalty.”

Ashley jerked a thumb at her chest, “I still know where my loyalties lie. I’m an Alliance soldier, it’s in my blood.”

To Shepard she said, “Maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you. Doesn’t matter. I’m reporting back to the Citadel. I’ll let them decide if they believe your story.”

“We both know how that’s going to turn out,” Shepard said, her voice full of scorn. “The Alliance will try to blame Cerberus, just like you did.”

“With good reason. Cerberus can’t be trusted.” Ashley stood there for a moment, eyes locked with Shepard. Garrus knew there was no way for them to resolve this. Both women were too stubborn. Ashley finally said, “So long, Commander. Good luck.” Then she turned to hike up the hill after Delan.

Shepard stood still, just breathing, her eyes focused on some point in the distance. Then she turned as well and headed towards the outskirts of the colony in the opposite direction from Ashley. She spoke into her comms, “Joker, send the shuttle. I’ve had enough of this colony.”

 

***

 

Shepard didn’t say another word while they waited for Joker to return with the shuttle. She said nothing when the shuttle arrived, she simply got on board and threw the helmet of her hardsuit onto the seat with a loud clang before taking a seat. She sat silently for the return trip hunched over in her seat, elbows resting on her knees. Her hands were clasped so tightly together that Garrus could see her knuckles turning white. Garrus leaned his head against the bulkhead, tiredness starting to settle in as the energy from the fight with the Collectors drained away. Saving half the colony wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad for a day’s work. He knew it wouldn’t be enough for Shepard though. Humans always wanted to save everyone. He was frustrated too, but his frustration stemmed from the feeling that they didn’t really know anything now that they hadn’t already guessed before. They weren’t any closer to figuring out what the Collectors were doing with all the humans they abducted, or to finding a way to stop them for good. The only thing they’d really learned was that Mordin’s countermeasures worked against the seeker swarms. Garrus smiled a little thinking that while everyone sat here grim-faced the salarian doctor was probably in a state of scientific ecstasy.

Garrus let his eyes slide shut. No one else seemed inclined to talk, and every once in awhile he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

“Hey Commander..”

Joker apparently hadn’t learned that lesson yet. Garrus opened one eye enough to see Joker had turned in his pilot’s chair to speak to Shepard.

“It’s pretty crazy the people you can run into around here,” he continued in an upbeat tone. “I mean, it was probably a set up, but it was still good to see Ash.” Shepard just stared at him, her face still set in hard lines.

“Wasn’t it?”Joker asked tentatively.

Shepard sat back and rubbed a hand across her face. She said, “We’re still friends. Barely. She’s moved on. I can’t really blame her.” There was so much weariness in her voice.

Joker snorted and groused, “She was on the front line with you blowing up half the Citadel. And I’m the one who gets roped back into saving the galaxy? Did someone switch our files?”

“You’re the force that holds it all together, Joker.”

“Yeah, this sucks, I’ll give you that.”

 

***

 

Jacob was waiting for them in the shuttle bay when they landed.

“Illusive Man is waiting to talk to you.”

“Oh I’ll just bet he is,” Shepard growled.

Garrus perked up at this news. He had been with Shepard for weeks but hadn’t had any contact with the man calling the shots. Garrus followed her along with Miranda and Jacob to the conference room. He was vaguely disappointed to see it was empty. It had been foolish to hope that the man might have come in person. He watched with interest as the holographic image of the Normandy that was normally projected into the open space in the center of the large, oddly-shaped conference table flickered out and the table itself sunk into the floor. It wasn’t until Shepard stepped precisely into the center and a holographic scanning field flared to life around her that he realized the room served as long-distance comms. Whoever was on the other end would only be able to communicate with Shepard, everyone else was outside of the radius of the transmitter. The lights in the room dimmed and the back wall of the room glowed as a holographic image was projected against it. Garrus saw a man lounging in a chair, one leg crossed over the other. His eyes had an electric blue light that Garrus found unsettling. Behind him the view was completely dominated by a dying red supergiant star.

The Illusive Man took a drag on the cigarette he was holding before he spoke. “Shepard. Good work on Horizon. Hopefully the Collectors will think twice about abducting another colony.”

Shepard was standing stiffly with her hands curled into fists at her sides. She replied coldly, “It’s not a victory. We interrupted the Collectors, but they still abducted half the colony.

The man gestured with his cigarette and when he responded his voice was surprisingly kind, “That’s better than an entire colony, and more than we’ve accomplished since the abductions began. The Collectors will be more careful now, but I think we can find another way to lure them in.”

Garrus found himself bewildered. Was the man actually trying to comfort Shepard? Garrus hadn’t expected him to froth at the mouth and yell anti-alien obscenities with every breath exactly, but he certainly hadn’t expected someone with this much empathy. He exuded confidence and charisma. Garrus was starting to realize that Cerberus’ leader held the group together with equal parts charm, competence, _and_ xenophobic fervor.

Shepard folded her arms and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I’d wondered if you had something to do with that attack. Ash said the Alliance got a tip about me and Cerberus. Was that you?”

“I may have let it slip that you were alive. And with Cerberus.”

“You risked the lives of my friend, my crew, and that entire colony? Just to lure the Collectors there?” Shepard snarled.

“A calculated risk.” The kindness had left his voice. Here was the aloof strategist Garrus had been expecting. He actually found him less unsettling this way. It was too easy to be lulled by a charming exterior into forgetting how sharp the edge of the blade was until it cut you.

The Illusive Man took another drag on his cigarette before continuing, “I suspected the Collectors were looking for you, or people connected to you. Now I know for certain. I told you I wouldn’t sit and wait while the Reapers and Collectors gather strength. Besides, they would’ve hit another colony eventually. And without a way to predict which one, they would’ve abducted everyone.”

“We have to make sure they don’t abduct anyone else.”

“I want the Collectors stopped for that very reason,” he said soothingly, his tone friendly once again. “That’s why we’re doing this. I’m devoting all resources to finding a way through the Omega 4 relay. We have to hit them where they live. Your team will need to be strong.. As well as their resolve. There’s no looking back. The same goes for you.” He paused before asking, “Can I assume you’ve put your past relationships behind you?”

Garrus could only assume the man was referring to Ashley. He felt himself bristling defensively on Shepard’s behalf.

“None of your damn business,” Shepard retorted.

The Illusive Man’s tone sharpened, “If it affects the mission, better you should leave it behind. Shepard, once we find a way through the Omega 4 relay to the Collector homeworld, there’s no guarantee you’ll return. To have any hope of surviving you—and your team—must be fully committed to this.”

“Let me worry about them,” she said derisively. “You just find us a way to the Collector homeworld.”

The Illusive Man shifted in his seat, annoyance on his face. “I just want to be upfront about your odds. You’ll need everyone at their best. I’ll forward more dossiers. Keep building your team while I find a way through the relay. And be careful, Shepard. The Collectors will be watching you.”

The image of the Illusive Man and his star flickered and cut out. The glowing grid around Shepard died and the lights in the room came back on. Garrus tried to catch Shepard’s eye but Jacob stepped in front of him and blocked his view.

Jacob said, “I guess we’re really gonna do it. Hit the Omega 4 relay. Take the fight to the Collectors in person.” He pounded one fist in an open palm. “Looking forward to the action. After seeing what those bastards did on Horizon though.. Makes you think.”

“I need you sharp and focused if we’re gonna get this done, Taylor,” Shepard said curtly.

“No argument there, Commander. Horizon just made it hit home. What we’re doing, what we’re up against. Gonna go take care of a little unfinished business. I imagine everyone else is too,” and he looked at Miranda. “Getting some closure you know?”

Shepard just nodded tightly and left. Jacob watched her leave, then frowned wordlessly at Miranda. She shook her head at him, an odd mirror of their exchange when he had first met them. Then it had been Miranda who was suspicious and angry at Shepard and Jacob who let it go. The sympathy on Miranda’s face was gratifying, if unexpected. Garrus cleared his throat, pushed past them gently, and walked out towards the bridge. He arrived just in time to see the yeoman interrupt Shepard’s beeline for the elevator.

“Commander, I’ve seen the initial reports about Horizon..”

Shepard cut her off with an abrupt gesture. “Not now, Kelly.”

“Ma’am, what you did was amazing, I just..”She stopped and swallowed at the sight of Shepard’s glare. “Um, also Doctor Chawas passed along word that she wanted to see you when you returned from the planet.”

“Fine,” Shepard said shortly and turned on her heel to get into the elevator.

Garrus was about to follow her when Mordin burst through the doors. “Commander!” he called.

Shepard just let the elevator doors shut without stopping.

“Well. Difficult mission. Fatigue likely.” Mordin’s eyes fell on Garrus and his expression brightened. “Vakarian! You will do. Come. Your omni tool has data on seeker swarms. Must analyze effectiveness of countermeasures. Personal observations also important. Come, come.” Mordin herded Garrus towards the lab as he burbled excitedly with scientific zeal, not letting Garrus get a word in edgewise.

 

 


	5. What Kind of Day Has it Been?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Horizon Garrus finds himself tasked with an unfamiliar duty regarding his commanding officer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long gap. Life happens, you know how it goes. And I spent a lot of time second-guessing myself on this chapter. ;)

Garrus was grateful when he finally pulled off the last piece of armor and dropped it to the floor next to his bunk in the forward battery. When he’d finally left Mordin in his lab the salarian had still been going full-tilt, excited about finding ways to optimize his countermeasures against the seeker swarms and using the data Garrus and the others had collected about the paralyzed colonists. Garrus didn’t understand even half of what he said, and he was bone-tired.

The Cerberus crew found his choice of lodgings strange, but there was something very comforting to him about sleeping next to the biggest gun on the ship. Besides, it’s not as if he were exactly welcome in the crew quarters. All of the non-Cerberus crew Shepard had recruited recognized the tacit “KEEP OUT” sign on the door and had found other places to bunk. Zaeed and Grunt bunked down in the cargo bays, Jack had found herself a hidey hole underneath the main engineering deck. He wasn’t sure Mordin actually slept at all, but if he did, he would have slept in his lab regardless of what his welcome was like among the crew.

They left the Cerberus crew alone, and the Cerberus crew were gracious enough to return the favor. It wasn’t a large ship and relations had settled into a grudging detente. They may not like each other, but they knew they had to work together. The humans didn’t bother Garrus once he’d retreated to the area he’d staked out. Garrus made sure to keep the guns in perfectly calibrated order to ensure they never had any reason to intrude upon his space either. So he was very surprised when the doors hissed open and Kelly Chambers entered.

She looked around and called out tentatively, “Hello? Mister Vakarian? May I speak with you?”

Kelly was one of the few Cerberus crew members who wasn’t hostile to him and had actually engaged him in conversation. He believed that her friendliness wasn’t feigned, she seemed genuinely interested in all of the people on board, alien or not. Generally he wasn’t averse to talking with her, but the mission to the Horizon colony had been taxing, physically and emotionally. The interaction with Williams had left a bad taste in his mouth. After the debriefing with the Illusive Man, he wasn’t feeling particularly well-disposed towards Cerberus either. He wasn’t in any sort of mood to deal with even the most pleasant of its members.

“Not right now,” he replied, a little more brusquely than he’d intended.

“Please? It’s about Shepard.”

“I think Shepard’s had a hard enough day, let’s leave her out of it.”

“That’s what I mean. I’m worried about her.”

“Horizon was tough on everyone.”

Kelly hesitated for a moment before she asked, “Do you know what my function on the ship is?”

Garrus wasn’t sure what she was getting at, and he was running short on tact. “I’m not in the mood for guessing games.”

“The Illusive Man assigned me to the Normandy because I’m also a trained psychologist,” Kelly explained. “He felt it was important considering the nature of our mission.”

“You mean the whole sailing into certain doom part?”

Kelly nodded. “He wanted me here to.. assess the emotional state of the crew.”

“So you’ve.. assessed.. something wrong in Shepard’s emotional state, have you? I’m sure that took all of your considerable training to suss out.”

Most of the crew had taken one look at Shepard’s face after she stormed out of the briefing room and discovered they had incredibly pressing tasks anywhere else. Not Kelly, though. Garrus couldn’t figure out what her angle was here.

“I’m not sure what you want from _me_ ,” he said. “I’m sure Miranda’s report will have whatever information you need for your _assessment_.”

“This isn’t about what I need, but what Shepard needs. I was hoping she would talk to me but.. I don’t think she trusts me.”

Garrus snorted. “Given her history with Cerberus, that can’t be a surprise. Cerberus was responsible for the thresher maw attacks that killed her entire unit. Except her.”

“I don’t condone what the cell on Akuze did. But you must know that Cerberus cells operate independently.”

“Yeah, and it was just a few rogue operators who were responsible, right?” Garrus’ voice grew heated. “They held Corporal Toombs for years. The Illusive Man knew _something_. We ran into too many Cerberus cells ‘independently’ committing atrocities to believe that ‘operating independently’ crap. So you should complain to your boss about Shepard not trusting you, not me.”

Garrus relented a little when he saw the look on Kelly’s face. He remembered Kelly’s genuine warmth when he came aboard, particularly since it had been in stark contrast to the rest of the Cerberus crew’s cool hostility.

“Look, I believe that _you_ didn’t know. You may have joined Cerberus with good intentions. But look around. Your fellows can’t all say the same. Shepard will _never_ trust Cerberus.”

Kelly’s shoulders slumped slightly but she nodded. “I was hoping with time she would see we’re not all like the people who hurt her. She’s been professional, even friendly. I thought we’d developed a rapport. Her resiliency has been quite remarkable, no one really knew what the result of Project Lazarus would be but she’s exceeded all expectations.”

Garrus shrugged, “That’s Shepard. She’s unflappable.”

“But she _isn’t_ ,” Kelly insisted. “She just seems like she is. She’s good at hiding things. I hadn’t realized how good until you came on board.”

“Me?”

“She’s been different. I hadn’t realized how on edge she was until that edge was gone.” Kelly smiled at him. “She doesn’t trust Cerberus, but she does trust you. She’s been holding everything together all by herself for awhile now. No one can do that forever. Since she won’t talk to me, I was hoping to convince you to try.”

Garrus hadn’t been expecting _that_. His anger was replaced by uncertainty. “Talk to her? About what?”

“Whatever happened on Horizon stirred up something. She’s back on edge again, even more than when she first woke up.”

Garrus ran a hand along his crest, feeling self-conscious. “Look, I’m no good at talking to people. And she hasn’t been alone. She trusts Joker and Chakwas as much as she trusts me.”

Kelly shook her head. “She trusts Joker and Chakwas, but they need her to be the commander, the one who always knows what to do. That’s not what she needs right now. I think she trusts you to handle things when they go really wrong. Maybe it takes an alien to see her as just a human.”

Garrus wasn’t sure what to say to that. He wasn’t sure he really did see Shepard as merely human. She had died and come back to life, after all. But he did consider Shepard to be his best, and at this point, possibly his only real friend. He’d never even considered the possibility that maybe it was the same for her.

“If I screw this up, and there’s a real chance that I will, I’m blaming you,” he growled.

 

* * *

 

 

Garrus found Shepard still in the medbay. She and Chakwas were sitting in chairs, holding glasses of some sort of liquor. They raised their glasses towards each other as Shepard said solemnly, “To Jenkins. To Pressly. To Kaidan.”

Chakwas replied, “May they never be forgotten. And to Shepard, our immovable center. A place where a woman can stop and catch her breath.”

They swayed as they clinked glasses, then threw back the remaining liquor. Shepard contemplated her empty tumbler morosely. She looked up at Garrus, the movement carrying her head a little too far back and she had to correct.

“Garrus! D’you remember that time when Jenkins..” She trailed off. “No. Wouldn’t. Died on Eden Prime. Before your time.” She waved her empty glass vaguely. “You’dve liked Jenkins. He was a hothead too. Right, doc? Doc?”

She turned to Chakwas for confirmation, but the doctor had climbed up onto one of the medical beds and passed out. Shepard frowned. “Some Alliance soldier you are. Can’t even hold yer liquor. Pretty sure they don’let you outta Jump Zero if you can’t.”

Garrus picked up the bottle on the desk to read the label.

“Serise ice brandy. The good stuff,” Shepard informed him. Then she frowned hard, thinking. “Can you drink that one?”

Garrus waved the bottle gently to show it was empty. “Not now, I can’t.”

“We drank the whole bottle already?” Shepard looked ruefully at the sleeping Chakwas. “I take it back, doc. You’re a credit to the uniform.”

Shepard looked down at herself and made a disgusted noise. She was wearing Cerberus ship clothes. “Such as it is.”

Garrus stood there awkwardly for a moment, hunting for something to say. Maybe he should’ve asked Kelly for some suggestions. He didn’t even know what she wanted him to talk to her about. Though he had to admit that, hearing Chakwas’ comment as he’d come in, maybe she had a point. He wondered if Shepard had a place to rest and catch her breath.

“So,” he said. “What are we celebrating?”

Shepard tried to take a sip from her empty tumbler and her frown deepened.

“The fallen. Y’know, I got her this bottle to replace the one she lost when the.. when the Normandy went down. The other one. She figured we’d better drink this one while we had the chance.”

“Not a bad idea,” Garrus agreed. “And to celebrate a successful mission I hope?”

“Some success,” she said as she pushed herself out of the chair with a disgusted noise. “We only saved half the colony.”

“Better than none.”

Shepard waved his words away with the hand still holding the glass. Garrus watched it with some trepidation.

“The Illusion Man.. So smug at setting it all up, wasn’t he? If he’d’ve told us the entire plan maybe..”

“You can’t save them all, Shepard.”

“Tell that t’Ash,” she said morosely. “She hates me now. Not that I blame her.”

Garrus plucked the empty glass from her hand. “Ash doesn’t hate you.”

“You heard her down there.” Shepard gestured to the Cerberus uniform. “Traitor to the Alliance. Y’know, Jenkins, Kaidan.. They all died for that uniform. Because of me.”

Garrus watched her weave unsteadily while she paced the room until she took one of the turns a little too forcefully and stumbled over her own feet. He just managed to grab her elbow and right her before she landed in an undignified heap. He’d seen her drink before, but not like this. The pain in her voice hurt.

“Ash doesn’t hate you, and Kaidan wouldn’t either. ” Garrus said firmly, “Technically you died for that uniform too.”

Shepard laughed weakly at that.

“Though I am pretty sure he wouldn’t approve of this much drinking,” he said and tried to tug her towards the medbay door. Shepard tried to resist, sticking her lower lip out mulishly.

“He would if it was bourbon.”

Garrus just shook his head. Stubborn was better than sad. He wound his arm around hers and walked her out of the medbay. She murmured a mild protest at the movement, but gave in. They lurched out of the medbay and towards the elevator, Garrus practically dragging her the entire way. Garrus punched the key that would take them to the topmost deck of the ship.

“Com’on old friend. Let’s get you to bed.”

“M’not old. Wait, how old am I now, anyway? Do years count if you’re dead?”

Garrus chuckled, “I’m going to need to get as drunk as you to think about the answer to that question without it making my brain hurt.”

 

* * *

 

 

He’d give Cerberus this, they sure knew how to build ships. The commander’s cabin on the old Normandy had been little more than a closet next to the main battery. The room that occupied that position in the ship now was Miranda’s office. The engine room in the new Normandy had to be taller to accommodate the new engine and as a result had created a little bit of dead space over the CIC beneath the exterior pressure hull. They had outfitted that space to serve as living quarters for Shepard. It was essentially a very small apartment and it was beautifully appointed. It had two levels separated by a short staircase. The upper level was equipped as an office with a desk and a computer console. A glass wall display case separated the upper level from the lower. He was surprised to see that Shepard had filled it with a number of model ships. He saw a model version of the old Normandy SR-1, and one of the Destiny Ascension, the huge asari dreadnought that served as the flagship of the Citadel fleet. He was pleased to see a turian cruiser as well.

The lower level had a sleeping area containing a large bed and a closet, as well as a seating area with a couch and a low table. One whole wall was taken up by a huge salt-water fish tank, an unthinkable luxury on any of the military crafts on which he’d served. He suspected that for Shepard, the room’s biggest appeal was neither the fish tank nor the music system, but the private bathroom. Privacy was one of the most precious commodities on the crowded confines of a starship.

Garrus was pretty grateful for that privacy now as he walked the very inebriated commander inside. He kept her steady as they descended the stairs and lowered her carefully to the couch. She managed to stay mostly upright in her seat, slowly sinking down until her head could rest on the back the couch. As her eyes slid shut a single tear spilled from beneath their lids and down her cheek.

Garrus found himself at a loss. C-Sec had required all their officers to take training courses on alien social behavior and alien body language. It was important to be able to distinguish between an alien who was just being friendly and one who was being aggressive. Elcor were tricky, they communicated emotion through scent and had little visible body language. Fortunately they were also rarely a problem for C-Sec, except that serial killer who had turned out to be an elcor. That had surprised everyone. Humans could be difficult for the opposite reason: they had highly mobile faces and had a huge array of body language and tonal language shifts they employed to communicate. Trying to remember all the variations to parse any given interaction could be exhausting. Garrus had become much more adept at interacting with humans after joining Shepard’s crew on the original Normandy, but he knew he frequently came up with the wrong response even if he’d read the situation correctly. And C-Sec had never offered, “How to Comfort Your Commanding Officer” as a training option.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um..” He cast around for something to say, for anything he could do. “Can I get you something?”

“Water. In the bathroom.” She groaned and rubbed her closed eyes. She sounded a bit better than she had in the medbay, she was no longer slurring her speech. She’d told him once that human biotics metabolized alcohol more quickly.

Happy to have a task he knew he could accomplish, he went into the bathroom and rummaged around until he found an empty glass he filled with water from the sink. He brought it back to the main room and sat next to her on the couch so he could hand it to her. She sat up gingerly and drank it slowly. When she finished she set the glass on the table in front of her. Then she let out a sigh and slid sideways, leaning her shoulder against his arm. Uncertain what to do now, Garrus tried to think back on all the interactions between humans he’d witnessed. Most species had social norms regarding physical contact and he wasn’t completely certain what was appropriate in these circumstances. Humans were a lot freer with touch than turians, but then, humans didn’t have a hard carapace or spend nearly as much time completely encased in armor.

Well, he wasn’t wearing his armor now. And she’d leaned against him first. Garrus tentatively stretched out the arm Shepard was leaning against and wrapped it around her shoulders. When she laid her head on his shoulder he let out the breath he hadn’t been aware of holding. So far so good, he hadn’t done the wrong thing yet.

Shepard was quiet for a long time, then she asked, “Was she right? Have I forgotten who I am?”

It took Garrus a moment to figure out whom she was referring to. “Ash? Com’on Shepard, you know she was wrong.”

Shepard’s voice was so sad and confused, it broke his heart to hear. “Was she? I’m starting to like them, Garrus.”

“Like who?”

“The Cerberus crew.”

Garrus squeezed her gently. He thought of the funny engineers, Ken and Gabby. He thought of Kelly and how she had come to him. Jacob openly disliked aliens, but he never failed to treat Garrus with respect. Even Miranda, who had been suspicious of Shepard at the beginning seemed to be thawing.

“I like them too,” Garrus said. “Some of them, anyhow. They’re not all bad. Even Cerberus was bound to make mistakes and recruit a few good ones.”

Shepard chuckled and sighed. “I don’t know, Garrus. They’re my crew. I try not to get attached but.. They’re _mine_. Even if they’re Cerberus, they’re still _my_ people. To get the job done and keep them safe.. It’s hard not to care.”

“I won’t blame you for caring, Shepard. Ashley shouldn’t blame you either. It’s what makes you a good leader.”

“But _Cerberus_..”

She studied her scarred hands, turning them over and over again. Garrus tapped the back of her hands with one finger.

“You know, you never actually told me the story of these scars.”

He felt her shrug. He shook her gently.

“Have you told _anyone_ about what happened?”

He felt her shake her head.

“Tell me now.”

He could feel her stiffen under his arm and start to pull away. He tried to forestall her withdrawal by blurting out, “The day you died was the day I quit C-Sec.”

She lifted her head and looked at him, surprise on her face. Garrus shifted a little uncomfortably, embarrassed to remember how he’d felt that day.

“You know where I was? In Executor Palin’s office, getting yelled at. Again.”

Shepard’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “That sounds familiar.”

Garrus cleared his throat. “Yeah well. Listening to the Council try to sell the story that the geth were responsible for the attack on the Citadel made me crazy. Watching everyone buy the story made me even more crazy. I know you told me before I went back to try and remember that the rules were there for a reason, but it seemed to me like they were mostly about covering the Council’s ass. The executor and I had quite a few chats about my behavior. I was standing there listening to him berate me, and then on the screen behind him I saw the Normandy burning on the news while they reported that you were dead.. I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t know why I’d ever gone back. I should have stayed on the Normandy, with you.”

Shepard settled onto his shoulder again. “You might have died too, so I’m glad you weren’t.”

“I don’t remember everything. The Collectors attacked, we didn’t know who they were at the time. Their weapons cut through the shields like they were nothing. There was a fire on the crew deck. Several people were already dead.. I knew we couldn’t wait around. I ordered the crew to evacuate. Joker wouldn’t leave though. There was a hull breach in navigation, the whole deck had depressurized, so I was wearing my suit. I had to forcibly drag Joker out of his chair and shove him towards the airlock. Stubborn, he thought he could save the ship. I’m still not sure how he made it to the escape pods, because there was another explosion. I was blown out into space.”

Garrus shivered a little trying to imagine what it would be like. Untethered, floating in the debris of a ship that was exploding all around him.

“It was so quiet.. It was almost beautiful for a minute.. Then I noticed the leak in my suit. I started to choke, and it was so cold.. Then I passed out.”

Garrus realized he’d unconsciously started to breathe too fast, the oxygen in his lungs feeling precious. Shepard had lapsed into silence, struggling with the memory. He tightened his arm around her shoulders sympathetically and waited. Her voice was quiet when she started speaking again.

“When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was. The last thing I remembered was the Normandy. It felt like just moments. Everything was blurry, but I could see people, I could hear their voices. They were upset that I was awake. They said it was too soon. There was so much pain, I couldn’t even tell where it was all coming from. They dosed me with something and I passed out again.

“The next time I woke I was alone, but I could hear fighting somewhere else. I was pretty disoriented. I had to fight my way out of a medbay through these security mechs. There was a voice over the comms, directing me to a shuttlebay. Miranda, but I didn’t know that then. She wouldn’t tell me anything except where to go next. I met up with Jacob on the way. I had to pry it out of him, but he’s the one who finally told me they were Cerberus.”

Shepard’s hands curled into fists in her lap. “I was so angry, but it wasn’t a good time to start a fight with the only other person I’d met who wasn’t trying to kill me. Going with them was the only way I was getting off that station alive. But it all seemed so damn convenient, so perfectly contrived to get me to trust them. Waking me up in the middle of a fight so I was forced to cooperate with them seemed engineered to manipulate me into feeling dependent on them, trusting them. PsyOps at their best. I still wonder.. Miranda claimed one of her techs betrayed them, tried to sabotage Project Lazarus over money. But she shot the man responsible and has never offered concrete evidence that he hacked the mechs.

“They took me to speak to the Illusive Man. He said I’d died, but they’d brought me back. Humanity needed me to fight an enemy no one else was willing to do anything about, one who was abducting whole colonies at a time. Who turned out to be the very enemy that had killed me. Who, by the way, were probably connected to the Reapers?” She shook her head. “Too damn convenient. It sounded like the story from a holovid, not real life.”

After meeting the Illusive Man, Garrus could easily believe the man was manipulative enough to have done exactly as Shepard had feared. Thinking about her waking up alone in Cerberus’ hands made him angry.

“The idea that they’d brought me back from the dead seemed so ludicrous. But I remembered the Normandy going down. I remembered there had been a leak in my suit. But after that.. Well, you don’t remember being dead.” She chuckled darkly.

“I didn’t trust the Illusive Man. Not for a second. All the information I had was coming from him, and I couldn’t trust it. I’d been dead for two years? Had I really been dead, or just imprisoned? Had it actually been two years? I doubted everything. But I knew I’d have to go along with them, at least at first. Until there was a chance to escape, something I wasn’t going to be able to do on my own without a ship or any way of contacting the Alliance. So I let them take me to Freedom’s Progress, to investigate one of the disappeared colonies.. and Tali was there.”

Tali had been part of their team to stop Saren. She’d uncovered some of the key evidence they’d used to convince the Citadel Council that Saren was responsible for the geth attack on Eden Prime. Garrus hadn’t seen or heard from their old comrades since he had left the Citadel. Being a vigilante had made him a pretty shady friend to have.

“What was Tali doing on a human colony?” he asked.

“There was another quarian there on Pilgrimage, kid called Veetor. After the colony disappeared, she and a few others went to try and find him.” Shepard swallowed hard. “She confirmed everything the Illusive Man had said happened to me. I’d been declared dead after the attack on the Normandy. That it had been two years. That everyone from the old crew was gone..”

She trailed off, not willing to share wherever that train of thought was leading her. She was silent for a moment while she regained the threads of the story.

“We found Veetor. We had to kill all of the colony’s defense mechs he’d reprogrammed, most of Tali’s friends were killed in the process. I asked her to come with me. She wouldn’t. She was happy to see me alive, but.. I was with Cerberus. She couldn’t trust me completely.”

 _Like Williams_ , Garrus thought. It must have cut deep. Tali had idolized Shepard pretty hard. And Shepard hadn’t had anyone she trusted to turn to.

“Anyhow,” Shepard continued, “She had her own mission.”

“Little Tali’Zorah, all grown up with her own missions?” Garrus asked.

“Yeah. It was pretty strange, she wasn’t the kid on her own Pilgrimage who’d joined up with us on the Citadel.” Shepard shrugged. “I already told you what Anderson and the Council said. I went to them first thing after Freedom’s Progress. Making me a Spectre, banishing me to the Terminus Systems.. Anderson was sympathetic but he said he couldn’t help me. I never expected much from the Council, but Anderson? Has he really become such a politician in the last two years?

“I had been determined to find a way to extract myself from Cerberus. I believed in the Illusive Man’s mission by then, but I didn’t want to undertake it on his terms. If Anderson had just trusted me I would’ve left right then. But it was clear I had no allies there, I had no allies anywhere. Just Cerberus.”

Her voice grew bitter. “I’ve been Alliance my whole life. I spent my whole childhood a Navy brat. I enlisted as soon as I was old enough. If I’m not Alliance, then what am I?”

“You’re Commander Shepard. Hero of the Citadel. And the finest officer I’ve ever served with.”

“Doesn’t seem to count for much against the black mark of being with Cerberus. Whether I joined them willingly or not.”

“I know what Cerberus is like and I came anyway.”

“You had a lot of people shooting at you when I found you. Anything would be better than that.”

“Hey, for the record, I’d have come with you no matter what. It’s been Shepard and Vakarian since the beginning, and I’d rather fight with you at the end than do almost anything else.”

She lifted her head off his shoulder and gave him a look, more of her usual spirit in her eyes. “You know, I don’t think the Illusive Man was counting on you.”

“Oh?”

Shepard smiled crookedly, “The man does his homework, he would have known how resistant I would be to work with him. He had to have at least a couple of people I wouldn’t immediately despise, so he brought on Chakwas and Joker. But I bet he was counting on how upset my friends would be if I allied myself with Cerberus. Isolate me, and he starts to look a lot better. Maybe I start to believe in the cause.”

Garrus smirked, “He didn’t do enough homework to find out who Archangel was. I was pretty careful about that.”

“Did you see how pissed Miranda was when she realized we knew each other? She could see all her carefully laid plans falling apart.”

“You just say the word, Shepard, and we’ll go after Cerberus. I signed on when it was just a suicide mission against the Collectors. Taking on Cerberus seems easy in comparison.”

“What would I do without you, Garrus?”

“Oh, you’d still complete your mission. Not as stylishly, of course. But I learned when we went after Saren that Commander Shepard always gets her man. ”

She didn’t answer, but he felt her body relax against his. He sat with her like that for awhile in silence. After the silence had stretched on for longer than was comfortable, Garrus started to worry he’d finally said the wrong thing.

“Sorry, Shepard, if..”

Shepard made a strange noise, something between a growl and a cough. Garrus craned his head, trying to peer at her face. Her head was on his shoulder again, but his movement caused her to slip a bit. She made no move to check her fall.

_Is she.. asleep?_

He gently tipped his shoulder and caught her as she rolled off. He lowered her until her head was resting in his lap. She made a few more of those growly, coughing noises as she breathed deeply. Her eyes were shut. Garrus just sat there for awhile, watching her sleep. He lightly brushed a talon along an angry red indentation on her cheek and winced. It was the shape and size of one of his clavicular ridges, it must have been digging into her cheek. Turians were not ideal sleeping places for tender-skinned humans. Aside from the mark though her cheeks were almost smooth. The scars she’d had when she’d found him on Omega had been been healing, fading from a ragged red to a smooth white. Soon the visible damage of her ordeal would be gone. It was clear though she would carry the scars in her heart for far longer. He felt guilty he hadn’t seen it sooner. He’d just been so happy to have her back after two long years. Having to deal with Cerberus had seemed to him like a small price to pay to have Shepard back, but her experiences with them had been so much more personal. The price she paid to use their resources was steep. He promised himself she wouldn’t have to do it alone.

As carefully as he could, he scooped his commanding officer and friend up in his arms and tucked her into her bed. He quietly refilled her water glass and left it within easy reach before dimming the cabin lights and leaving her to sleep.

 


	6. Ways and Means

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus and Shepard take a recruiting trip to Illium and run into old familiar faces.

Garrus looked up from his console as the doors to the forward battery hissed open. Shepard was standing on the threshold.

“Hey,” she said. “Can I come in?”

“It’s your ship, Shepard, you can go where you like.”

Shepard smiled wryly and came the rest of the way in, moving carefully. Garrus’ mandibles twitched in amusement.

“Didn’t you used to brag that human biotics couldn’t get hangovers?” he asked.

Shepard rubbed her eyes and shrugged. “I guess no one had tested the effects of Serrice Ice Brandy before.”

Shepard considered Garrus for a long moment. She took a breath as if she were about to speak, but let it out again without saying anything. Garrus tilted his head inquisitively and waited. She glanced away and smiled an odd half smile. He couldn’t remember having seen an expression like it on her face before. He wasn’t sure what it meant. She picked up a tool from the bench he used to maintain his weapons and examined it with an unusual degree of interest. When she looked back at him again her face was composed and business-like.

“I’ve ordered Joker to take the ship to Illium. The dossiers the Illusive Man forwarded me say we’ll find a drell assassin and an asari Justicar there.” She tapped the tool against the palm of her other hand contemplatively. “I’ve never heard of a Justicar before.”

“Not many people have,” Garrus replied. “They don’t usually leave asari space. I’ve heard stories, though. They live by a strict code and travel around righting whatever wrongs they find, killing anyone who gets between them and justice. No politics, no shades of grey; you’re either right or you’re wrong.” Garrus sighed enviously. “Turians need something like that.”

Shepard chuckled at his wistful tone. “I dunno, Garrus. You didn’t much like all the rules on the Citadel. A strict code doesn’t really seem like your style.”

“I didn’t like the rules that kept me from doing my job,” he pointed out. “The asari let the Justicars do whatever they need to in order to adhere to their code. That would suit me just fine. Well, except for the part where they swear to give up all worldly possessions.”

Shepard looked around the room dubiously. “What worldly possessions would you be giving up, exactly?” she asked.

“I have stuff! Well, I _had_ stuff. I had to leave most of it on Omega. It was some pretty good stuff though. Nothing as nice as your ship collection but..”

Shepard chucked the tool at him with mock annoyance. Garrus caught it easily.

“Touchy, touchy, Commander.”

Shepard shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. “Anyhow,” she said. “I just I came down here to say thanks. For before.”

Garrus suppressed the urge to tease her again. He didn’t want any more tools thrown at his head.

“You know I’ve always got your back, Shepard.”

The odd smile was back on her face.

“I know, Garrus.”

She turned and walked out abruptly, leaving Garrus scratching his head.

 

* * *

 

When Garrus and Shepard stepped out of the Normandy’s airlock they were met by a well-dressed, dark blue asari. Garrus’ hand reflexively fell to his weapon holster as he eyed the pair of armed LOKI battle mechs who accompanied her.

“Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepard,” the asari said with a friendly, almost obsequious tone. “We’ve been instructed to wave all docking and administration fees for your visit. My name is Careena, if you need any information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you.”

“Who instructed you to waive the fees?” Shepard asked, with what Garrus felt was a very healthy degree of suspicion.

“The order came from Liara T’soni, who paid all fees on your behalf, “Careen replied smoothly. “She also asked that I direct you to speak with her at your convenience. She’s near the trading floor.”

At Liara’s name Garrus saw some of the tension go out of Shepard’s posture. He didn’t ease his own hand off his weapons until after the asari had entered a command into her omni-tool and the mechs turned to march away.

“Alright then, Careena. Tell me about Nos Astra.” Shepard said.

“It’s an exciting city,” Careena said with enthusiasm. “We see a lot of new cultures and goods because of our proximity to the Terminus Systems. Illium is a free-trade world, we’ve had to relax some standards in order to remain competitive. At the same time, Illium is still an asari planet. You should be as safe here as you would be on the Citadel.”

Garrus noted the edge of equivocation that had entered Careena’s voice as she spoke about the “relaxed standards” on Illium and he snorted.

Shepard just nodded politely and asked, “What does Liara do here?”

“Liara is one of Nos Astra’s most respected information brokers. Information is valuable currency and Liara has done quite well. She said she was looking forward to seeing you.”

“Thank you,” Shepard said, dismissal in her tone.

“Welcome to our city, Commander. Please enjoy your stay.” Careena stepped aside and let them pass.

Garrus gazed out the window as they walked through the corridors of the docking area. Lines of hovercars flitted between the tall, graceful buildings lit with blue and purple lights. Against the gentle pinkish glow of the setting sun, the effect was striking. He had to admit that the asari were no slouches in the architecture department, Nos Astra was a lovely city. As lovely as it was, however, he knew looks were deceiving.

“We were always told Illium is one of the safest places in the galaxy,” he remarked to Shepard as they walked. “Until you fell off the grid. Sign the wrong contract, join up with the wrong company, or walk down the wrong alley and it’s just as dangerous as anywhere else. Don’t let this place fool you. It’s no safer here than Omega.”

Shepard chuckled as she strolled through the busy crowd. Most people took one look at the small arsenal they carried and got out of their way. The fact that almost no one seemed alarmed in any way told Garrus everything he needed to know about Nos Astra.

“Garrus, you would probably see the danger lurking in flower beds,” Shepard complained.

“Can’t blame a guy for being cautious.” He narrowed his eyes at her thoughtfully. “I noticed you didn’t seem particularly surprised that Liara was here.”

Shepard shrugged. “I told you I asked the Illusive Man for the whereabouts of the old team when I first woke up. He told me Liara was here.”

“You haven’t contacted her before now?”

“He also told me there were rumors that she was working for the Shadow Broker. He didn’t seem to think contacting her at that time would be prudent, lest information about my revival become widespread. Now I think he just wanted time to spread his own rumors first.”

Garrus was surprised at the revelation. The Shadow Broker was one of the most powerful and mysterious figures in the galaxy. He and Shepard had both had run-ins with his minions before. Not all of them had ended in violence, but enough had that he would have been wary of anyone working for him as well. But Liara working for the Shadow Broker? It seemed so out of character for the sheltered asari academic he’d known before.

They reached the trading floor. It was a hub of frenetic activity. There were aliens of all races clustered around information consoles, calling out trades. Others were shopping at kisoks or watching the news feeds on the large screens mounted on the walls. They passed an asari and a volus arguing over how the Collector attacks should change their financial decisions. The volus had an odious plan to short sell shares for the supplies that would likely be donated to any refugees. Typical, all tragedies had their financial vultures.

They ducked out of the press of people and into a quieter corridor that indicated it lead to the administration offices. At the top of a flight of stairs they found a reception desk. The asari seated there rose as they came into view to greet them, then waved them into the office.

“Have you faced an asari commando unit before?” Liara asked the man on the other end of a vidcall. Her voice was a lot more threatening than Garrus remembered.

“Few humans have,” Liara continued. “I’ll make it simple. Pay me, or I’ll flay you alive. With my mind.”

Garrus blinked in surprise. He hadn’t been able to imagine the sweet, shy Liara he’d known as an agent of the Shadow Broker, but a Liara who could threaten to flay someone so casually over payment? He could easily imagine this woman working for such a sinister figure.

Liara terminated the call and turned around. When she saw Shepard, the severe expression on her face crumbled.

“Shepard..” Liara began, but she stopped, she seemed unable to speak. Her arms parted and she reached out to Shepard hesitantly. He saw Shepard hesitate for a moment too before she let out a breath and stepped into them. Liara’s eyes slid shut as she closed her arms around Shepard and laid her head on her shoulder.

“Ah.. Shepard..” Liara breathed, nearly inaudible. “My sources said you were alive, but I never believed..” she said, her tone nervous, but joyful. “It’s very good to see you.”

“You have sources now?” Shepard asked with an amused smile.

“A few. Sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle. I’ve been working as an information broker.” She turned to Garrus and clasped one of his hands in both of hers. “It’s good to see you too, Garrus.” She reached up to touch the injured side of his face lightly. He ducked a little, feeling self-conscious and Liara smiled.

“I was worried,” she said, “And a little professionally embarrassed when I lost track of you after you left C-Sec.”

“No offense, Liara, but I’m glad. If you couldn’t find me then the other less friendly people probably couldn’t find me either.” Garrus eyed the office appreciatively. “You seem to have done alright for yourself with this information brokering gig.”

Liara nodded and sat down behind the large desk that was set in front a huge window that gave her an excellent view of both the trading floor below and Nos Astra’s skyline. Liara seemed much more intimidating sitting with such an impressive backdrop behind her. The tasteful decor of the office reeked of money, acting as a silent testament to the truth of Liara’s skills.

“It’s paid the bills since.. well..”Liara trailed off uncertainly.

“Since I died? It’s okay to say it,” Shepard joked.

“For the last two years,” Liara said with some chagrin. “And now you’re back, gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus.”

Shepard took the chair opposite Liara. “If you know that, then you know I could use your help.”

“I can’t, Shepard. I’m sorry, I have commitments here. Things I need to take care of.”

“What kind of things?” An edge crept into Shepard’s voice. “Are you in trouble?”

Liara shook her head quickly. “No, no trouble. But it’s been a long two years.” She stood restlessly and turned to look out the window, her back to them. “I had things to do while you were gone. I have debts to repay.”

“What’s this all about Liara?” Shepard asked. “Can’t you just talk to me?”

“Don’t you think I want to, Shepard?” Liara responded defensively. “This isn’t because I don’t trust you. This is Illium. Anything I say is probably being recorded. It should be about friendship and trust.. But that’s not how it works here.”

“These debts, are they to the Shadow Broker?” Shepard asked.

Liara looked at Shepard, surprise on her face.

Shepard shrugged evasively. “I hear things too. Cerberus says you’re working for him now.”

Liara shook her head, frowning. “I’m not working for the Shadow Broker. But it does involve him, yes. So you must understand why I can’t say more.”

Shepard nodded a little stiffly. “Fine. Okay. Maybe you can help me another way. I find myself in need of information.”

Liara seemed relieved to move onto a less fraught topic. “Of course, what do you want to know?”

“As you know, Cerberus has me building a team to stop the Collectors. There’s supposed to be an asari named Samara here on Illium. Do you know where I could find her?”

Liara nodded. “Samara, yes. She arrived recently and registered with tracking officer Dara. She should know Samara’s current location.”

“I’m also looking for Thane Krios. Have you heard anything about him?”

“The assassin,” Liara said, nodding. “Yes, he arrived here a few days ago. My sources tell me he may be targeting a corporate executive, Nassana Dantius.

That name sounded familiar to Garrus. “Nassana? Wasn’t she a diplomat on the Citadel?”

“Yes.” Shepard twisted her mouth with distaste. “She concocted a story about a sister held hostage that turned out to be complete crap. The sister was blackmailing her and the ‘rescue’ mission was just a way to get me to kill her and take care of the problem for her. I’m not surprised she’s made enemies who want to kill her.”

“Krios contacted a woman named Seryna.” Liara told them. “She has an office in the cargo transfer levels. Perhaps she can tell you where he is.”

Shepard eyed Liara. “That was all just off the top of your head?”

Liara smiled a little smugly. “I’m a very good information broker, Shepard. The world of intrigue isn’t that different from a dig site. Except that the dead bodies still smell.”

“Well, I should go. I have some people to find.” Shepard pushed herself to her feet, but waved Liara back when she started to rise.

“I really am glad to see you, Shepard. I wish I could come with you, truly.”

Shepard smiled crookedly. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to you later, Liara.”

 

 

Shepard nodded to Liara’s assistant on her way out of the office and headed down the stairs. She paused at the bottom, silently watching the crowd of people out on the trading floor with her arms crossed tightly. Eventually she blew out a long breath.

“Guess that’s it, then. We’re on our own.”

“Just you and me against all the Collectors?” Garrus chuckled. “I still like our odds.”

Shepard arched a brow at him. “Oh really?”

“Look at it this way, the Collectors already killed you once and all it did was piss you off. I can’t imagine they’re going to stop you this time. It’s their loss that the others will miss getting to help us kick their asses.”

Shepard laughed and she dropped her arms to her sides. Garrus nudged her shoulder with his.

“C’mon, we have work to do.” Garrus turned and started walking. “I think the transport hub is that way.”

Shepard put a hand to his chest to check his movement and shook her head slightly. She had that look on her face that meant she was revising her strategy. “You might like our odds against the Collectors but.. It might be time to let some of the others on on the action. Can’t let you hog all the glory, Garrus.”

She chuckled at his affronted expression, but her voice lost it’s levity as she continued, “It’s time to start integrating the others into the team. I’ve been putting it off, I was hoping some of the others might join us but..”

Shepard shrugged. Garrus growled. He would be damned if he’d let someone else watch Shepard’s back, especially one of those lunatics.

“I don’t see why that means I’m staying behind.”

“They’re not the only ones who have to get used to the new arrangement, Garrus. We have to get used to trusting them, too. There are bound to be times when we have to split the team up. I’ll need someone to lead the second team, and there’s no one I trust more to do that than you. Like now,” she said with a smile, “I have a different mission for you. Very important. Recon, if you will.”

“Recon?”

“Recon,” she said firmly. “I need you to investigate the bars in Nos Astra.”

Garrus stared at her in disbelief. “You have to be kidding.”

“I’m absolutely serious. You deserve a break.” She cuffed his shoulder. “We all do. The Cerberus crew has been working non-stop, and the ship could use some repairs. I’ll go collect the new people and give some of the others a trial run. Picking up a couple of people doesn’t seem that complicated.”

“Don’t say that. You,” and he pointed at her for emphasis, “Have a knack for _making_ things complicated. At least take Jacob or Miranda,” he begged. “Don’t take all the crazy people out in a group.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Shepard sniffed. “Fine, Jacob. But when I get back, we’ll go out. You and me.”

“You haven’t had enough drinking?” he chided her. He wasn’t above being petty.

Shepard winced. “Whatever place you pick, make sure it doesn’t have any Serrice ice brandy.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, still not thrilled with the idea of Shepard going on missions without him. But orders were orders. Jacob was good. Shepard would be fine. Probably. He sighed. “I’ll find someplace nice.”

Shepard looked aghast. “Nice? No! Find us someplace _fun_.”

She gave him a jaunty salute and turned to slip into the crowd. As she left he could just hear her speak into her comms, “Kelly? Tell Jacob and Grunt to suit up, I need them in Nos Astra…”

 

* * *

 

Garrus retreated to the cafe near the trading floor. The seating area was open on one side, giving a clear view of the floor and the activity there. There were a few other people seated at the tables nearby, some conducting business over beverages, some solo patrons grabbing a quick meal before presumably heading back to work. One of the lone patrons made him look twice. She was human, brown-haired, brown-eyed, deeply tanned skin, dressed conservatively. It wasn’t her appearance that made Garrus give her a second glance, though. She appeared to be casually consuming a beverage, but Garrus could see she was just using it as an excuse to surveil someone on the trading floor. He knew a fellow law enforcement professional when he saw one. Her face looked familiar too, but he couldn’t immediately place it. She looked like a number of other humans, and he was sure she wasn’t C-Sec. Some sort of private investigator? She was skilled enough that she was almost immediately aware of his counter-surveillance. She frowned quizzically, tilting her head to one side in a silent question. She didn’t seem threatened by his attention, perhaps she had also pegged him as the former C-Sec agent he was. Garrus just nodded and turned away. Whoever she was and whatever she was doing had nothing to do with him.

Garrus called up the directory for all the businesses on Nos Astra on his omni-tool and started going through the lists of recreational venues. There were a lot of them. He needed to devise a strategy for filtering all the information. What were the most important criteria to consider? Ambiance? Menu? He tried to focus on the task but he was too irritated. Shepard was out there with Cerberus, no doubt stirring up trouble with her usual flair, and he was supposed to look into _bars_? His concentration kept wavering as he replayed the conversation with Liara and Shepard in his mind, and every time he did, his irritation grew. The words on the display became a meaningless blur as his temper rose. He had no patience for cloak and dagger nonsense. Whatever games Liara was playing with the Shadow Broker, they couldn’t be more important stopping the Collectors. How could all of Shepard’s friends desert her? How could they not jump at the chance to be part of such an important mission?

Liara’s refusal in particular baffled him. She had been very attached to Shepard. Of all the non-Alliance crew, Liara had been the only one to stay with her on the Normandy after the Battle of the Citadel. The human crew used to joke that the archaeologist had a crush on the commander, but he’d never really paid much attention to the rumors. Gossip seemed to be a popular activity on human military vessels. The Alliance had very strict rules governing the interpersonal relationships of their military personnel and yet they had all spent a disproportionate amount of their downtime speculating about which members of the crew were sleeping with each other. The senior officers were the most popular targets, Shepard in particular. Factions had formed between those who were rooting for Liara and those instead favored one of their fellow Alliance members, Kaidan Alenko. Discussions between the two groups sometimes even got heated. Garrus had never really understood it. The speculation ended tragically after Kaidan’s death on Virmire. His loss affected everyone and though she remained professional, they could all see how badly Shepard had taken it. Garrus would have thought those in Alenko’s camp would have cited that as proof that they had been right, or that the Liara proponents would have said the field was now clear for their candidate, but instead both groups just seemed to feel guilty that the romance had been discussed at all. Why they should feel bad about encroaching on Shepard’s privacy only after the death was one of the many things about human social dynamics that continued to mystify him.

Garrus dismissed the directory and hissed in frustration. Liara hadn’t seemed surprised or angry that Shepard was working for Cerberus, so that clearly wasn’t an issue for her. She had changed in the last two years and he wasn’t sure he liked the results. He’d always thought she could stand a little more backbone but threatening to flay people was a bit much. He wasn’t satisfied with her flimsy excuses and mysterious “debts”, there had to be more she wasn’t telling them.

Well, he wasn’t going to be put off so easily. Garrus stormed back up the stairs to Liara’s office and blew past her assistant's’ attempts to stop him in a storm of righteous indignation.

Liara looked up from the display on her desk, startled by his reappearance. “Garrus, what..”

“Cut the crap, Liara,” he growled and slapped a palm on her desk. “Shepard may have bought your story but I worked for C-Sec long enough to know when someone is holding out on me.”

Liara’s expression darkened but he wasn’t interested in listening to any more excuses. “You were there when the Normandy was destroyed,” he said. “The Collectors did that. You know what we’re up against. Maybe you want to sit in your comfortable office and ignore the threat like the Council..”

“You have no idea, Garrus” Liara said, her voice low and dangerous. She rose from her seat and leaned over the desk with her hands flat on its surface. “You have no idea the lengths I’ve gone to.. Yes, I _was_ there. Everything changed when she died.”

“You’ve certainly changed, I can’t believe you’d abandon her like this. Do you have any idea what it’s costing her to have to work with Cerberus?”

Liara flinched as his barb struck home. She probably knew Shepard’s history even better than he did, and they had both been horrified by their encounters with Cerberus.

“Cerberus is out there spreading rumors that Shepard has been working with them this whole time, poisoning all her friends against her. Anderson and the rest of the Council kicked her out of their offices, the Alliance disavowed her. D’you know what Ash said after we saved her ass from the Collectors on Horizon? She called Shepard a _traitor_.”

Garrus sunk his talons into the desk leaving deep grooves on its surface and leaned towards her. “You said you had debts to repay? Well we owe her too, Liara. After she died I would have done _anything_ to have her back, I can’t believe you..”

“ _Would_ have done anything,” Liara interrupted him. “I actually _did_ something. These debts are the result.”

Garrus felt cold settle into his guts as he considered the implications of her statement.

“What, exactly, did you do, Liara?” he asked. He saw Liara’s shoulders hunch slightly.

“Haven’t you wondered how Cerberus got Shepard’s body?” she asked carefully.

“ _You_ gave Shepard’s body to _Cerberus_?” he snarled.

“Was I supposed to let my friend die when someone offered a sliver of hope?” Liara pleaded. “They had intel on how I could find her, they said they could bring her back. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

Garrus rocked back on his heels, stunned. Would he have done the same thing? He had been quick enough to join up with Cerberus despite everything he knew about them.. He’d meant it when he’d said he would have done anything to have Shepard back, but his definition of “anything” clearly wasn’t as inclusive as hers. He had seen the perverse experiments Cerberus called science. He wasn’t sure he could have made the same choice. Liara had taken a huge risk, but it had paid off. It seemed petty to criticize with her decision now. He collapsed into the chair near Liara’s desk, feeling slightly deflated as his anger drained away.

“I don’t know, Liara. Maybe. Maybe not. Why didn’t you tell Shepard this before?”

“I didn’t know how she would feel when Cerberus restored her. If she’d feel betrayed or..” Liara shrugged uncomfortably. Garrus nodded.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m grateful. Shepard found me in a tight spot.”

“Is that when you were injured? Your face..”

“Maybe I’ll tell you about it some day. Let’s just say, if you happen to run into any information about the current location of a turian named Sidonis while you’re hunting down the Shadow Broker, I would be _very_ interested.” Garrus scratched his face where the plate covering his injury ended. “How _does_ the Shadow Broker come into this?”

“A month after the attack, I started hearing rumors that people were looking for Shepard on Omega. It seemed impossible, but I began to wonder if she had survived somehow. The Alliance had never recovered the wreckage of the Normandy, they never found her body. All we knew was what Joker had told us about Shepard being on the bridge just before it exploded. So I went to Omega to find out the truth. That’s when I was contacted by Cerberus. They confirmed that Shepard hadn’t survived, but told me the Shadow Broker had people working to recover her body on the Collector’s behalf.”

“What is it with them and Shepard?” Garrus wondered aloud. “They’ve got some weird fascination with her.”

Liara smiled at Garrus ruefully. “I didn’t trust Cerberus, but the Illusive Man can be very persuasive. I couldn’t let the Collectors have her and if Cerberus could bring her back.. I had to take the body from him.”

“Shepard’s alive, so you obviously succeeded. What else is there to do?”

“I had a friend helping me, Feron. The Shadow Broker’s people caught us. My friend didn’t escape. I don’t know if he’s dead or being interrogated, but I need to find him. I owe him my life.”

“What if we help you find him?” Garrus asked. “You could come with us while we look. You haven’t seen the people Cerberus has Shepard recruiting. We could really use you.”

Liara shook her head sadly. “I know the odds of you surviving your mission against the Collectors. I can’t run off on a suicide mission if there’s any chance of rescuing Feron.”

Garrus shook his head. “We’re going to lose people, no way around that. But don’t underestimate Shepard. We’ll come back.”

Liara smiled. “I hope so, but I need to work. I need to find leads, trace information. I can’t do that on the Normandy. I’m sorry. Keep her safe, Garrus. Please?”

Garrus got to his feet. “I will. Promise.”

“Are you going to tell her?” Liara stood as she asked, wringing her hands slightly.

Garrus shook his head. “No, but you should. She deserves to know what happened to her. Cerberus has been pretty tight-lipped about the details, and it bothers her. You know how she is. Maybe it will ease her to know you were there looking out for her.”

“I just.. couldn’t let her go. Maybe it was wrong but..”

Garrus reached out and gently pried Liara’s hands apart and held them. “She’s not an easy person to let go of. If you change your mind about joining the mission, you know how to find us.”

Liara’s eyes glistened as they welled up with unshed tears. Garrus cleared his throat with embarrassment and dropped her hands. They both just nodded at each other silently and Garrus left without another word.

 

* * *

 

In the end, Garrus discarded all of the factors he had been considering in favor of proximity and picked the place closest to where the Normandy was docked that served both dextro and levo beverages. If he had to end up hauling Shepard back to her cabin again he didn’t want to have to go very far. He wasn’t sure it would fit Shepard’s definition of fun, but it suited him just fine. There was a single bar, minimal waitstaff, and no dance floor. Which was a good thing, Shepard was a terrible dancer. Best to discourage the activity all together. It was a fairly small place, nothing fancy except the name. He thought _Eternity_ was a bit pretentious, but that was asari for you. They seemed culturally predisposed towards pretension. There was music playing but it was fairly sedate, more atmospheric than entertaining. The clientele was correspondingly sedate, mostly small groups engaged in quiet conversation, the exception being the group who inexplicably had an asari stripper dancing on their table. Garrus eavesdropped on their conversation with some amusement, it seemed to be a group of co-workers. The human was trying to explain the tradition of bachelor parties to the confused salarian guest of honor. Garrus was pretty sure the human was just using the salarian’s reproduction contract as an excuse to hire the stripper for his own amusement.

Definitely more of a lounge than a club, the room was divided up into a few separate areas, each with a couple of tables and dimly lit with soft blue light. Garrus supposed it was to grant the patrons some privacy, but the dark corners of the lounge made him uncomfortable, the visibility was too poor. The bar area was more brightly lit in red, and the walls and partitions that divided up the rest of the room created a natural choke point for any traffic. There was an obnoxious human male haranguing the asari bartender when he arrived, so he took the seat farthest away to wait for Shepard. He fiddled idly with the box he’d brought with him while he waited. He had visited Nos Astra’s shopping district to keep his mind off the fact that Shepard probably getting shot at without him. She never seemed to be able to go anywhere without someone trying to kill her.

He could really use a drink, but he didn’t want to accidentally get drawn into the drama playing out at the other end of the bar. It was sort of entertaining to watch, though. The man was an odd character. His armor was very strange. At first glance it looked like the kind of high-quality armor that Kassa Fabrications produced for the Alliance special ops, it even had a red and white N7 stripe painted on one arm. After a second look Garrus could easily tell it was just a replica, and a really cheap replica at that. The stripe wasn’t straight and the paint was flaking off. Garrus didn’t think he would fool very many people with it, the asari bartender was certainly unimpressed. She stood listening to his tirade with her arms folded, growing visibly more annoyed with every passing second.

His attention was diverted from the scene when Shepard dropped into the seat next to him with an audible sigh.

“Everything was a lot simpler before Cerberus, you know? All these freelancers have their own agendas. It’s exhausting.”

Garrus chuckled at her aggrieved tone. “What a pain it must be when people won’t drop everything the minute you ask them to face certain doom.”

Shepard scowled at him then looked around the bar. “Could you have possibly picked a quieter spot?”

Garrus shrugged. “I knew you’d make trouble wherever we went, so I thought I should give you as few targets as possible.”

“I suppose I’ve had enough excitement for today anyway. Now is the time for drinks.”

“Good luck with that,” Garrus groused. “You’ll have to get past the guy at the bar.”

“You think I can’t take him?” Shepard craned her head to look.

The man in the shoddy armor had grown even more agitated as they talked and he shouted loudly enough that they could hear him over the ambient noise.

“You’re really holding out on me?” he yelled. “I’m a man on the edge! I have nothing to lose!”

The bartender rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh.”

The man pointed at her belligerently and continued his tirade. “I’ll do anything to get the job done! I’ll go all the way without a second thought!”

“Oh, shit,” Shepard said and stood up. “Let’s get out of here. Now.”

“What the hell?” Garrus asked, but Shepard just pulled him to his feet and tried to tow him towards the entrance.

“You want to see how far I’ll go?” the man said. He started pacing in a tight circle in front of the bar, yelling at all of the patrons indiscriminately now. “I learned how to shove a gun in people’s faces from…” he trailed off as his eyes fell on Shepard still trying to herd Garrus away.

“Commander Shepard?” he asked, dumbfounded. Garrus watched with great interest as Shepard pretended she hadn’t heard him. Garrus looked more closely at his face and realized he was sort of familiar. The man’s face lit up with a huge smile and he waved to her enthusiastically.

“Shepard? Is it really you? It’s me, Conrad Verner! We met on the Citadel? I wanted to become a Spectre?”

Shepard froze and let out an almost inaudible sigh. She dredged up the most strained, insincere smile he’d ever seen on her face and turned back towards Conrad.

The bartender looked from Conrad to Shepard and her eyes narrowed. “Hey, if you know this idiot can you rein him in before I slap his ass with a singularity?” she asked.

The bartender’s comment seemed to remind Conrad of what he’d been doing and he resumed the tough guy act that he had been playing so unconvincingly.

“Oh, uh, and then you shoved a gun in my face!” He pointed at Shepard aggressively. Garrus suddenly remembered Conrad. He was some sort of crazy fan of Shepard’s, they’d run into him a few times while they’d been hunting Saren. He didn’t remember Shepard shoving a gun in Conrad’s face though. He looked at her, hoping she would confirm his memory. Shepard was frowning sharply and opened her mouth to speak but she was forestalled by Conrad’s frantic “play along gesture.” Shepard folded her arms and scowled at him, but she didn’t contradict his version of events.

“You showed me what it meant to be truly extreme,” Conrad said loudly, clearly for the benefit of the listening bartender. “I learned that lesson well.”

Shepard smiled apologetically at the bartender. The asari appeared to decide that Shepard had the situation well in hand and went back to her work, but she kept one eye on Conrad. Conrad turned his back on her and smiled ingratiatingly at Shepard before leaning one elbow against the bar with an exaggerated casualness.

“So you’re alive, huh? I hear it goes like that in the biz. Why don’t you sit back and watch how it’s done. I’ve got some asses to kick.”

It was all Garrus could do to keep from snickering. He leaned down to speak quietly in Shepard’s ear.

“Yeah, Shepard. Let Conrad show us how it’s done in ‘the biz’.”

Shepard elbowed him sharply in the side, or she would have if he hadn’t been wearing armor. Her jab ended up being completely ineffectual and he couldn’t stop the snicker this time. She turned to glare at him but since he was so close he could see that she was biting in the inside of her cheeks to keep from smiling. She turned back to Conrad, and the frown when she took in the red and white stripe on his armor wiped away all traces of her amusement. She asked, without quite masking her exasperation, “Conrad.. Why are you acting like me?”

“What are you, crazy? l’m nothing like you!” Conrad had the nerve to sound indignant. “I’m not a Spectre working for the Council! I’m on my own, backed only by my wits and my nerves! No rules, no laws, just whatever it takes to get the job done.” Conrad folded his arms and looked away. “I’m not like you at all.”

Was the man actually _pouting_? He certainly wasn’t anything like Shepard, but not for the reasons _he_ thought. Shepard shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Conrad, do you have any actual combat training?”

Conrad waved his arms dramatically. “I’m saving the galaxy! I don’t have time for training. You were a big jerk, but you saved the galaxy and showed the other races that humans mattered..” Conrad’s voice trailed off and grew subdued. “Then you died. The galaxy needed someone like you, Shepard. We all did. I had to do something.”

Garrus couldn’t believe it, but he was actually starting to feel a little sorry for the guy. Shepard must have been feeling a little sorry too because she just sighed and asked, “So you just wander the galaxy righting wrongs?”

“Hey, don’t say it like that!” Conrad pouted. “I talk to people, you know? Ask them if they have problems that only I can solve. You’d be surprised how many people are just waiting for someone to talk to them.”

“Why were you yelling at the bartender?”

Conrad looked around suspiciously and dropped his voice. “This place is actually a front for a red sand dealer. I need the deed to take it over to crack the ring!”

He hadn’t been quiet enough to prevent the asari from overhearing him. “What?” she asked. “Who the hell told you that?”

Conrad tried to play it cool. “The owner of that weapon’s dealer near the carport. She’s an undercover cop! She told me about it when I introduced myself.”

“Listen, crap for brains,” the bartender sneered. “First, we don’t sell red sand. Second, red sand is legal on Illium, you just need a license!”

Shepard muttered under her breath. “Dammit, Conrad..”

Then her face froze as some thought occurred to her. Adopting a serious tone she said, “Listen, this sounds like a really dangerous operation.”

“What?” the bartender said looking at Shepard like she was now the crazy one. Shepard waved the asari off, and put both her hands on Conrad’s shoulders. “Let me take it from here. You could be killed if you pursue this, and I would feel terrible if anything happened to you.” Her voice oozed sincerity. Garrus _almost_ believed her.

But Conrad ate it up. He nodded eagerly as she spoke.

“I didn’t know.. I.. I can’t risk you worrying about my safety,” he said. “I’ll stop pretending to be something I’m not. But thanks for letting me help, at least for a little while.”

Despite his brave words his head drooped a little and there was a sad, forlorn expression on his face.

“You were a big help, Conrad. I’d never have known about this ring of criminals without you.” She gave his shoulders a little shake for emphasis.

“Really?” he asked in a small, hopeful voice.

“Really.” Shepard smiled at him. “You did a great job, Conrad. Now please, go home.”

“Can do. It’s really good to have you back, Shepard.” He raised his arms as if he was going to hug her but she quickly dropped her hands from his shoulders and offered one to shake instead. Conrad walked out straight and proud, but far less cocky than he’d been before.

Garrus just shook his head. “You let him off pretty easy.”

Shepard took a seat at the bar and rubbed her forehead. “Conrad’s an idiot, but.. He just wants to help. There are enough people in the galaxy who wouldn’t even bother to lift a finger for anyone else. I just didn’t have the heart to crush him.”

The bartender put a couple of drinks on the bar in front of Shepard and said, “Thanks for dealing with that crazy guy. Saves me from having to beat him to death with his own spine. Makes the other customers nervous.”

“Some places charge extra for that kind of entertainment,” Garrus drawled.

The asari laughed at that and replied, “I’d certainly enjoy it, but then my father was a krogan. Let me know if I can get you anything else.”

Garrus retook his seat and picked up one of the drinks. He sniffed it inquisitively. “What do you think she brought us?”

“Hell if I know,” Shepard said and tossed it back in one gulp. She sucked in a breath and shook her head vigorously. “Whatever it is, it’s got some kick” she managed to wheeze out.

Garrus took a much less ambitious swig of his drink and hummed in approval. “Not bad.”

Shepard gestured for another drink and the asari slid another one down the bar to her. This one Shepard nursed more slowly. Her eyes fell on the box Garrus had resumed fiddling with idly and raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“Oh,” Garrus looked down at the box, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. What was the human protocol on gifts? He should have thought this through more carefully. Too late now. “I uh, well I had some time to kill and I.. got you something.” He slid the box towards her.

Shepard put her drink down in surprise. “For me?” She picked up the box and opened it. Nestled inside the packing material was a model Alliance cruiser.

“Well, you didn’t have one in your collection,” he said.

Shepard took it out of the box carefully and turned it over in her hands, examining all the details. Garrus leaned over her shoulder to point at the front of the replica. “I’m impressed with their accuracy, some of the cheaper models don’t include all of the little weapon ports.”

She glanced at his face and away again quickly. He thought her pale skin grew little redder than usual. Maybe it was just the red light illuminating the bar. But then she chuckled a little ruefully.

“I grew up on a series of naval vessels,” she said, her voice quiet. He had to lean in close to catch her words over the music. “After I joined the Alliance it was Jump Zero, Arcturus and another series of naval vessels.. there’s never been enough room for unnecessary personal items. I know it’s silly but I always wanted these as a kid and now..” She trailed off with a tiny shrug. Garrus was shocked to realize that Shepard was _embarrassed_. He nudged her shoulder playfully with his til she looked at him.

“The shop downstairs has a few more if you’re interested.”

“Maybe later.” She slowly smiled at him. It was the same odd smile from earlier. It was even more discomfiting this time around.

“But first,” she finally said, “We drink.”

“Agreed.”

He clinked his against hers, glad to be back to a straight-forward activity. The protocol for getting drunk was pretty much universal among all alcohol-ingesting species. Drinking he could do.

 

* * *

 

“She actually tried to bribe you?” Garrus asked.

“Of course she did. Nassana thinks everyone has a price,” Shepard drawled.

Garrus shook his head in disbelief and the movement was enough to upset the delicate balance he was maintaining between his wobbly gait and the packages he was carrying in one arm. Shepard had cleaned out the souvenir kiosk of all it’s model ships, as well as acquiring a few new fish for the tank. It had probably been a bad idea to go shopping _after_ the alcohol. In their current addled state it had seemed perfectly reasonable to buy so many items, until they realized that meant they had to carry them all back to the ship.

Garrus staggered and Shepard grabbed his free arm to steady him. He narrowed his eyes at the innocent smile on her face. She had an armful of packages as well but she wasn’t listing quite as badly, despite having consumed the same amount of alcohol. He had a new respect for the potency of Doctor Chakwas’ favorite drink if it could incapacitate someone with Shepard’s apparently prodigious alcohol tolerance.

Shepard curled her arm around his and pressed her shoulder against his to brace him as they resumed their meandering pace towards the Normandy. Though he’d regained his balance Shepard showed no indication that she was going to drop his arm. He decided his dignity could tolerate a little assistance if it meant no more stumbling. Besides, it was rather nice walking with her like this. It had been a long time since he just walked with a friend, no one trying to kill him, nowhere pressing to be. He let the glare relax from his face and he hummed a little in contentment. Shepard’s face swum in and out of focus in his inebriated state. He thought he saw some expression flicker across her features but his brain was too fuzzy to make sense of it. He looked up at the windows overhead, the nighttime Nos Astran vista was impossibly beautiful. The buildings glowed with an ethereal light and the hover cars were reduced to little more than lights flickering swiftly through the gloom.

“Uh, anyhow, Nassana never even saw Thane come out of the ducts.” Shepard whistled appreciatively at the memory. “He killed her three guards before she even turned around. She was dead before she saw him coming. I’ve never seen anyone so quick, or make killing so graceful. He’s definitely the oddest assassin I’ve ever met.”

Garrus felt some of his good mood souring a little at the admiration in her voice. “Oh? What’s so strange about him?” he asked.

“He was so gentle with her after he delivered the killing shot. And when he was done, he prayed.”

“He prayed for Nassana? Doesn’t sound like she deserved it.”

“No, he was praying for himself, actually. ‘Prayers for the Wicked,’ he said. I wouldn’t have expected an assassin to be so spiritual, and he was concerned with the innocent people in the Dantius Tower. I found several groups of workers that Nassasa’s guards would have killed except that Thane killed the guards first, left the workers alone. He’s interesting. Cerberus offered him the same ridiculous sum they used to entice Zaeed, but Thane’s coming for free. He says he doesn’t care that it’s a suicide mission.”

“Really?” Garrus said with disbelief. “That would be a first.”

He felt the movement of Shepard’s shrug through the arm wrapped around his.

“He’s dying,” she said, her voice solemn. “He wants to do something to help people on his way out.”

“So he’s a noble assassin.”

“Speaking of noble, you should meet Samara. I can’t describe her, she’s so..” Shepard fell silent as she groped for words. “Unshakable. Serene. She’s very old, normally I can never tell with asari but Samara’s eyes.. You can almost see how much she’s seen. I like them both already,” she admitted.

Garrus hmmmed uncertainly. “Well, they can’t be any worse than who we’ve got already.”

Shepard laughed. “So true. We should get back, make sure no one has killed each other while we’ve been gone.” She wrapped her arm a little more tightly around his and pulled him along.

 


	7. A Proptional Response

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liara's contact come through with information on Sidonis' location. Shepard and Garrus head to the Citadel to get his long-awaited revenge.

The Normandy stayed docked at Nos Astra for more than a week while Shepard had some new ablative plating installed on the hull. Jacob had obtained a new state of the art design through some of his old contacts within the Alliance Corsairs. The new version had been designed after the destruction of the SR1 so starkly demonstrated their vulnerability to the weapons the Collectors could bring to bear. It would take awhile to reconstruct the hull, and that justified an extended enough stay to allow the crew to take some shore leave. Most of them, anyhow. Shepard confined Jack and Grunt to the ship. Jack was a wanted criminal in most sectors of known space, and Grunt was simply too unpredictable to be allowed out without a chaperone.

Garrus and Shepard made another excursion to Eternity, and they even managed to coax Liara out of her office. For the space of one evening the three of them pretended that the last two years hadn’t happened. They didn’t talk about Collectors or Shadow Brokers or vigilantes. And thankfully, there were no further Conrad Verner sightings.

Not everyone went ashore solely for recreation. Miranda and Shepard quietly disappeared together for nearly a full day and when they returned there was new damage to Shepard’s gear. Shepard gently refused to share any of the details with Garrus afterward, much to his consternation. She stated only that Miranda’s business was personal, and that she had needed help taking care of it. Garrus supposed it was good that Miranda trusted Shepard enough to ask for her help. Their icy and suspicious relationship had thawed to a grudging, mutual respect.

Shepard also helped Liara acquire some data she wanted. Shepard was quiet about the details of that trip as well, but it was a more pensive silence than a secretive one. Garrus hoped that meant Liara had taken the opportunity to confess to Shepard about the Shadow Broker’s deal with the Collectors and her own involvement with Project Lazarus.

Once all their business on Nos Astra had been concluded, they were left with the fact that the Illusive Man, despite his vast resources and wide information network, still hadn’t managed to learn anything new about the Collectors, their plans, or how to traverse the Omega-4 Relay. All they could do was wait. Garrus was really, really bad at waiting, but Shepard was even worse. Every report of another colony being attacked would send her prowling for something tangible she could do. She wasn’t particularly inclined towards engineering work, but that didn’t stop her from trying to help Ken and Gabby, who were always tinkering with the ship’s systems, trying to wring every last bit of performance out of her. Mostly she was just underfoot, and they eventually had to ban her from Engineering entirely. She was much better at helping Jacob maintain the stockpiles of weapons. The two swapped stories of their former careers in their respective branches of the Systems Alliance while they worked. Jacob had become disaffected with the military bureaucracy after the first geth attack on Eden Prime. He was still a soldier in his heart, and Shepard found an unexpected kinship with Jacob over his distrust of Cerberus’ more ruthless tendencies.

The Illusive Man had done his homework on Shepard during Project Lazarus and he knew he shouldn’t just leave her to her own devices. Cerberus had plenty of work to go around, and he was canny enough to know exactly what sort of work would suit her best. To Garrus’ cynical eye, the missions seemed to be carefully selected so as not to be ethically troubling to Shepard’s sense of duty to the Alliance. Shepard may have been publicly disavowed, but she still considered herself an Alliance officer, and she wouldn’t have allowed herself to be used in any way she that thought was counter to Alliance interests.

The crew also took advantage of the lull to take care of personal business. Everyone was realistic about their chances of surviving the mission. They had no idea what they would find on the other side of the Omega-4 Relay. Staring at almost certain death tended to make people more reflective about the loose ends in their lives. Shepard liked to grumble about everyone’s competing agendas but she was also sensitive about the sacrifice they were being asked to make. Mercenaries, assassins and criminals couldn’t be asked to give their lives out of a sense of _duty_ so Shepard was careful to keep her grumbling out of their hearing and to fulfill the requests she could. She wanted their focus on the Collectors, not on unfinished business.

Between the work Cerberus was assigning them and the personal demands of the eclectic group of specialists, Shepard had a rigorous training regime for integrating them into a efficient squad. Most of the people Shepard recruited were generally accustomed to working on their own and it took some time to adjust to taking orders. If you’d asked him at the outset, Garrus wouldn’t have been sure it was possible to integrate such a diverse group of individuals. But by now he knew better than to underestimate Shepard, and it wasn’t long before she had molded them into a terrifyingly deadly team. She wasn’t a miracle worker, she couldn’t get everyone to _like_ each other, but the more the team integrated on the field, the more the personal tensions between missions dissipated. Whatever misgivings they had about working for Cerberus were put to rest when they grew to trust Shepard’s leadership. And eventually, the Cerberus crew stopped pointedly ignoring all the non-human specialists. Most of them still didn’t like aliens generally, but they considered the ones on the Normandy _their_ aliens.

 

* * *

 

A few weeks after leaving Illium, Garrus received an encrypted holo-message keyed to his personal omni-tool. He was a little surprised to see Liara’s face appear when he initiated playback. Liara must have become much more paranoid if she was applying such strict encryption to personal messages.

“Garrus,” Liara’s recorded image said, “I hope this message finds you in time to be useful. The last time we spoke, you mentioned a turian named Sidonis.”

Garrus’ breath quickened. His anger at Sidonis was as fresh now as it had been when he’d first discovered the betrayal. He managed to push it to the back of his mind most of the time and focus on the present, but it was a constant companion and gnawed at his peace of mind.

“I couldn’t find much on him, he seems to have been as much of a ghost as you were for the last two years,” Liara continued wryly, “But I already had a VI programmed to search for all the known Shadow Broker agents who might appear in any of the video feeds I’ve managed to get access to, so it was simple to add Sidonis to the list. A few days ago the VI found an image of a turian matching Sidonis on the Citadel. The contacts I have there were able to confirm that Sidonis had arrived at the Citadel, but they weren’t able to verify his current wherebouts. However, I think I know why. In the image Sidonis was speaking to someone known to be an associate of someone called Fade. Fade specializes in getting people new identities.”

The anger churning in Garrus’ gut grew as he listened to Liara’s message. Her information was several days old at this point and if Sidonis had been dealing with someone who was able to help him disappear, his window to find him was closing, fast. Once he left the Citadel with his new identity, he would be nearly impossible to trace.

“I’m forwarding you the names of several of my agents on the Citadel. Please be discrete about using them, but they should be able to help you broker a meeting with Fade. Goddess bless, Garrus.”

Liara’s image froze and then winked out as playback finished.

 

* * *

 

 

Shepard frowned when he played the message for her in the privacy of her cabin. He couldn’t watch it again himself, instead he watched the fish swimming lazily in her enormous fish tank, trying to calm his urge to pace the room. He wanted to be gone immediately, to go after anyone who could lead him to Sidonis.

As the message finished again he turned to see Shepard looking at him intently.

“Sidonis is the one who betrayed your team?” she asked.

“Yes,” Garrus gritted out, his voice tight. “I know a trip to the Citadel isn’t part of the plan, but I have to get there soon if I want to find Sidonis.”

“What are you planning to do when you find him?”

“You humans have a saying. An eye for an eye, a life for a life,” Garrus growled out the words. “He owes me ten lives. I plan to collect.”

Shepard folded her arms, her mouth twisting as she asked, “You sure that’s how you want to play it?”

“I’m sure,” he said shortly.

Her frown deepened. She wasn’t pleased with his response. He had anticipated her disapproval, but he didn’t have time for it. “I don’t need you to agree with me, but I’d like your help.”

She just looked at him for a long moment. “Where do we find Fade?” she finally asked.

Garrus relaxed slightly as she acquiesced. “I’ve already used Liara’s contacts to get me a meeting. We’re supposed to go to a warehouse near the Neon Markets, down on Zakera Ward.”

Shepard turned away from him to bend over her desk and tap out a few commands on her console. She read over some information on the screen briefly. “Everything else can wait for a bit.”

“Thanks, Shepard,” he replied. She still had the frown on her face and he found the weight of her disapproval uncomfortable. That discomfort was no match for his rage. He didn’t care if her help was grudging as long as he had it.

 

* * *

 

Garrus stepped from the rapid transit shuttle and into the familiar hubbub of the Citadel wards. He hadn’t been stationed in Zakera Ward, but a security checkpoint was a security checkpoint; they all looked the same. It was almost like coming home again, but he had a sense of disconnection too. He hadn’t called the Citadel home for years. No matter how familiar the silvery metal walls and the familiar ambient mix of cool blue and garish red neon, everything was different now. When he spotted Shepard waiting for him a few feet away, Jack was with her. She was looking around with her customarily bored expression but Garrus knew her well enough to recognize the dangerous glint in her eyes.

“You really think bringing her along is a good idea?” he asked Shepard and jerked his head, indicating Jack.

“She promised to be a very good girl,” Shepard said and looked meaningfully at Jack. “Didn’t you, Jack?”

“Hey, I can play nice,” Jack said with the least convincing fake smile he’d ever seen.

“We’re trying to _avoid_ C-Sec attention right now,” Garrus said. “If we attract too much attention, he’ll spook, Fade’s a criminal.”

“So is Jack,” Shepard pointed out wryly. “If he knows who she is, she gives us a little more credibility. If not, she gives us some extra muscle without _looking_ threatening. For all I know, Fade knows you’re coming and we’re walking into an ambush.”

Garrus couldn’t argue with that. Shepard had a point. Even though he was a _former_ C-Sec officer he would probably be viewed with suspicion if he were recognized. Shepard’s status as a disavowed Alliance officer wasn’t helpful since she was still a Spectre, so Jack was probably a lot more convincing.

“My Spectre status has more weight here than it did in the Terminus,” Shepard continued. “I know the C-Sec commander of Zakera ward, Commander Bailey. He won’t give us any trouble.”

She lowered her voice, “Besides, I didn’t feel like leaving Jack and Miranda alone together just now. The Normandy might not be there when we got back.”

Jack and Miranda’s antagonistic relationship had come to a head after Jack’s explosive trip back to the Cerberus facility she had been raised in on Pragia. The two had actually started a biotic fight in the cargo bay and only Shepard’s timely intervention had kept Jack from tearing the ship apart.

Pragia had been an emotionally harrowing experience for everyone. The abuse Jack had suffered as a child had been appalling, and Miranda was frustratingly unapologetic about Cerberus’ role there. The facility had been tasked to research ways to enhance the potential of human biotics, but Miranda claimed the extreme abuse of the children test subjects had not been sanctioned by The Illusive Man. Rogue scientists doing appalling, “unsanctioned” science seemed to be a recurring theme with Cerberus. The organization was designed to keep everything compartmentalized, lack of transparency allowed bad behavior to flourish, and the results it often garnered meant it was actually rewarded. Garrus had been all too happy to help Jack blow that facility to pieces. He could completely understand Jack’s need to try and purge her pain with fire. It seemed to actually do her some real good, she had been much calmer since, and she stopped trying to pick fights with the rest of the Cerberus crew. Or maybe it was just seeing her pain validated by Shepard’s anger more than the explosion. She still loathed Miranda, the “Cerberus cheerleader” but she had come around to almost liking Shepard.

Jack bounced on her toes restlessly. “Let’s gooo already. This is boring.”

Shepard didn’t react to Jack’s whining, her attention diverted by something over her left shoulder. Garrus turned to see what she was looking at, but it was just one of the copious holo-ad terminals. They were everywhere in the busy port, and in every other commercial district on the Citadel. Garrus had gotten so used to them shouting at him over the years that he didn’t even register their presence anymore, they were just part of the background noise of life on the Citadel. The one nearest to him had pinged his ID and was showing him an ad targeted to him specifically.

“Garrus Vakarian, it’s been two years since you’ve had a job. Isn’t it time you rectified that?”

The one Shepard was staring at was displaying the image of a woman wearing a black hood over her head, only the lower half of her face visible, her eyes glinting with some sort of implants in the shadow. The voice that emanated from the ad cheerfully cajoled, “Commander Shepard, enter the password and receive a free gift.”

Garrus wasn’t sure what it was about the ad that had attracted Shepard’s attention. The woman’s attire was odd, but nothing about the message itself seemed interesting.

The image of the woman winked out and was immediately replaced with another one, taken from only a slightly different angle and asked, “Got problems with Collectors? Try Kasumi’s credit service.”

Now the ad had his attention as well. There wasn’t anything in Shepard’s public records about the Collectors, this ad shouldn’t have known to mention them.

“Just enter your password for a fabulous prize package worth millions of credits!” the ad entreated.

Shepard approached the ad terminal and the image on the holo-screen tracked her movement. The ads had a limited ability to react the environment, but adjusting the image on the screen relative to the movement of the target was _not_ one of the possibilities.

The image nodded genially to Shepard as she approached it and said, “Please tell me your password, Commander Shepard.”

Shepard replied. “Silence is golden,” she said.

“Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard,” the ad said. “Kasumi Goto. I’m a fan.”

“Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission?” Shepard asked briskly.

Garrus finally realized the ad wasn’t pre-recorded, it wasn’t even an ad. The woman had hacked one of the ad terminals and hijacked it to display a live video feed. Garrus was pretty impressed, there were _a lot_ of security measures in place to prevent this sort of hacking. He looked around surreptitiously to see if he could determine where the broadcast was coming from. The woman could see Shepard, that much was clear, but since the terminals weren’t equipped with cameras, it wasn’t a two-way feed. She had to be somewhere nearby.

“Actually, I’m shocked they didn’t come to see me sooner,” Kasumi said to Shepard. “My fault for being hard to meet, I guess.”

“What’s with the password and the sneaking around? Are you in trouble or something?”

Kasumi smirked as she replied, “I’m the best thief in the business. Not the most famous. Need to watch my step to keep it that way.” Then she shrugged. “I also needed to make sure this was all legit. And I have no doubts now—you’re the real Commander Shepard.”

Shepard folded her arms and smiled sardonically. “What makes you so sure?”

Kasumi gestured. “There’s a certain.. aura around you. Like you’ve seen things no one else has. Even without knowing what you looked like, I knew it was you.”

“What brought you to Cerberus?” Shepard asked.

“That’s a bit of a story.”

Garrus grimaced. Shepard always wanted to question people, but he didn’t have time for this woman’s life story, the appointment with Fade was fast approaching. He nudged Shepard impatiently and she scowled at him.

Kasumi must have seen their interaction because she said, “Short version? They were looking for me, so I trailed them for awhile to find out why. Turns out they were looking for someone to join you on an important mission .. And were offering a serious signing bonus. I had a thing I needed help with, so I made them a deal. And here we are.”

“I assume this deal is something I should know about?” Shepard asked with a slightly rueful sigh. This was not the first time Cerberus had negotiated on Shepard’s behalf without informing her of the terms of the agreement.

“Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds,” Kasumi snarked. “I’m looking for my old partner’s greybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I’m planning to get it back.”

Shepard glanced at Garrus and noted his increasingly agitated demeanor. “If that’s what Cerberus promised you, we’ll get it done.”

“It’ll be fun!” Kasumi said enthusiastically. “And if we’re lucky, you won’t even have to draw your gun. I’ve already gotten you some evening wear, though. You’ll want to look presentable.”

Suddenly the image on the ad terminal blinked out. “We should probably wrap this up,” Kasumi said, her voice no longer issuing from the terminal but from somewhere overhead. Garrus whipped his head back to see a slight figure in black standing above them on the maintenance catwalks. He silently cursed himself for failing to look above them, mortified at such a basic mistake.

Jack’s swearing wasn’t silent in the slightest. “Fuck me!”

Kasumi snickered with superiority at their expressions. “You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement.” Her voice sounded different now that it was no longer mediated by the terminal’s playback system. She gave them a jaunty wave and said, “See you on the ship, Shepard.”

Kasumi turned and began to walk away. She’d only gone a few steps before electrical discharge flashed around her and she vanished. Garrus’ keen eyesight was able to track the very slight visual distortion as she continued down the catwalk, but if he hadn’t been looking right at her, he would never have noticed. He whistled appreciatively. “Damn, I want one of those.”

Shepard just shook her head. “She’d better not use that on the ship,” she grumbled. She turned and pushed her way through the crowd of people lined up in front of the customs counter. When one of the harried employees noticed Shepard bypassing the line she shouted after her, but Shepard continued on, ignoring her. The guard at the security door into the ward stepped into their path with an annoyed expression on his face.

“Ma’am, you can’t bring weapons into the ward, please go back and..”

He stopped talking suddenly as the security scanner on his omni-tool chirped an alarm. From this angle Garrus couldn’t read the text scrolling across the holo-screen, but the flashing Spectre logo was clearly visible. Shepard stood there and folded her arms, her face carefully bland. The man cleared his throat and smiled apologetically.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, ma’am,” he said contritely and waved them through.

“Shit, Shepard. Running with you has perks,” Jack said.

Shepard grimaced. “And downsides. Last time I had to convince security I wasn’t actually dead.” She nodded to Garrus and said, “Lead on. It’s your show, Garrus.”

 

* * *

 

The warehouse was on one of the lower levels of the Zakera commercial district. They walked through the ward, past the all the little shops and cafes. As they approached one of the restaurants the chef called out to them, “Irasshimase! Have you tried our ramen? It’s an earth delicacy!”

Jack’s paced slowed as she craned her head towards the stand. “Earth delicacy, huh?”

“Jack..” Shepard warned.

“Fuck, fine!” she pouted, but she followed them.

The lines of shops and cafes turned into non-descript warehouses the deeper they went into the ward, and the crowds thinned out. The closer they got to the appointed address, the more on edge Garrus felt. They were closer to finding Sidonis than he had ever been. He wasn’t aware that he was flexing his talons restlessly until Shepard silently touched his hand. Garrus turned away from the concern on her face and indicated the warehouse a few doors down.

“This looks like the place. The forger’s thugs should have some information.”

Just outside the warehouse there was a human talking to a uniformed salarian. When they came into earshot they heard the human complain, “I just talked to him on the Wards Market. He sent me here! Come on! Why do I need a service order?”

The poor salarian seemed completely baffled. “The Wards Market? Why would you come to a Zakera Ward warehouse?”

“He said they were out of stock and I should go here,” the human whined. “He didn’t say anything about a service order!”

The salarian rubbed his forehead. “Without a service order I really can’t help.”

The human groaned in wordless frustration. These were not Fade’s thugs, just some confused idiots. Garrus brushed past them and headed inside.

The interior of the warehouse was spare and utilitarian. There were stacks of crates and barrels against the walls and in the center of the room. Lounging against those crates were a pair of towering krogan mercenaries. Ah, these were the types of thugs he’d been expecting. As soon as they saw Garrus their casual postures turned aggressive and they prowled towards him. Garrus put his hand on his pistol and was about to draw it when he heard Shepard ask in a dubious voice, “Fade?”

She wasn’t speaking to the krogan. Garrus looked, then had to tilt his head down to meet the helmeted face of a squat volus. His breathing apparatus hissed loudly in the echoing warehouse.

Shepard looked at Garrus and remarked, “He’s not quite how I imagined him.”

Volus were waist-high, wheezing, ball-like aliens with stubby limbs and little grace. It was almost impossible to take them seriously.

The volus sniffed loudly. “[ _hssss]_ Looks can be deceiving. So.. [ _hssss]_ which one of you wants to disappear?”

“I’d rather see you make someone _reappear,”_ Garrus said.

“Ah.. [ _hssss]_ ” The volus shook his head, his pressure suit clicking metallically. “That’s not [ _hssss]_ the service we provide.”

Garrus drew his gun and aimed it at the little volus. The krogan mercs both drew their weapons in response. Shepard’s mouth thinned into a tight line, but she just folded her arms and stayed silent.

“Make an exception,” Garrus said, keeping his voice level. “Just this once.”

“[ _HSSSS]_ Damn it. Quick,” the volus turned to address the krogan mercenaries. “Shoot them! [ _HSSSS]_ ” he ordered. “Shoot them you lumbering mountains!”

Beside him Shepard drew her pistol and Jack cackled. The glow of her biotic power sprang up around her body. Garrus kept his gun trained on the volus as he drew a second with his free hand. He used it to gesture towards the door. “Why don’t you two find somewhere else to skulk?” he asked.

The two krogan looked them over, then exchanged a glance. The first krogan shrugged dismissively and the other nodded. They holstered their weapons and left the volus to his fate.

“Awww,” Jack sighed.

“[ _HSSSS]_ Just like that?” the volus wheezed indignantly. “[ _HSSSS]_ You’re not getting paid for this! [ _hssss]_ What’s the point of hiring protection [ _hssss]_ if they won’t protect you?”

Shepard ignored his complaints. “We’re looking for someone,” she said. “A client of yours.”

“[ _hssss]_ Not mine, I’m not Fade. I just work for him. [ _hssss]_ Sort of.”

Shepard rolled her eyes. “I knew it.”

Garrus crouched until he was eye to eye with the diminutive volus. “Well then maybe you’d like to tell us where to find him.”

“[ _hssss]_ Yes, yes. Of course,” the volus said He’s in the factory district, [ _hssss]_ works out of the old prefab foundry.”

Garrus looked back over his shoulder at Shepard and said, “I know the place.”

“Uh.. [ _hssss]_ He’s got a few mercs there. Blue Suns.” The volus snorted, a ridiculous tinny sound. “[ _hssss]_ Harkin thinks they’re protecting him.”

“Harkin?” Shepard asked incredulously. “How the hell did _Harkin_ end up being Fade?”

“Well, [ _hssss]_ he got fired from C-Sec a while back. He used his knowledge of C-Sec and their systems to help a few people disappear. Then he made himself disappear, and Fade was born. [ _hssss]_ So to speak.”

“Interesting,” Garrus said impatiently. “But it changes nothing. We still need to find him before we can get to Sidonis.”

“Well,” Shepard said sweetly. “Let’s go pay Harkin a visit.”

“So I.. [ _hssss]_ I can go?” the volus asked hopefully.

“Sure, but if we don’t find Harkin,” Garrus said, and he gave the volus a little shove. “We’ll be back for you.”

“Oh,” the volus said in a small voice. “[ _hssss]_ Good.”

 

* * *

 

At the nearest rapid transit terminal they grabbed a shuttle to take them to the factory district. Garrus slid into the driver’s seat while Jack climbed in and sprawled across the backseat. Shepard took the front passenger seat with a troubled look on her face. Garrus clenched and unclenched his talons on the controls convulsively as he piloted the craft, leaning slightly forward in his seat, as if he could get them to their destination through sheer force of will. Keeping to the regulated speed felt unbearably slow.

“So,” Shepard mused, “Harkin’s finally gone completely bad. Why am I not surprised?”

“He was always a pain in the ass,” Garrus growled. “But I’m in no mood for his games.”

“Who the fuck is Harkin and why do you two know him?” Jack asked from the back.

“We worked together in C-Sec,” Garrus replied. “Sort of. He was pretty lousy at it—took bribes, roughed up suspects.”

Jack rolled her eyes. “Yeah, show me a cop who doesn’t.”

Garrus bristled at the slight but Jack just shrugged impertinently. “That explains you, Garrus, what about the Queen of the Girl Scouts over there.”

Shepard eyed Jack curiously, not sure if that was an insult or a compliment. Jack shrugged again and said grudgingly, “Just doesn’t sound like your style.”

Shepard couldn’t quite keep the smirk off her face. She nodded towards Garrus and said, “I met Harkin when I heard there was this turian hot-head investigating the same guy I was. He sounded like someone I should know.”

Garrus’ hand unclenched a little on the controls, remembering too. Joining up with the first human Spectre had been thrilling.

“No one else believed Saren had gone bad,” Shepard went on. “Ambassador Udina suggested Harkin might be able to help me find him.”

“And now, he’s going to help _me_ find Sidonis.” Garrus snarled. He looked down at the shuttle controls. Screw regulations. Garrus pushed the accelerator harder, past the designated speed and zipped around the slower shuttles in his way.

“You’re getting tense, Garrus,” Shepard noted quietly. The warmth of nostalgia had left her face and she was frowning again.

“Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear. If so, he knows why we’re here and I don’t want him tipping Sidonis off.”

Shepard nodded thoughtfully. “What are you going to do to Harkin if he doesn’t cooperate?”

“If he doesn’t cooperate, I’ll beat him within an inch of his life.”

Shepard frowned. “Garrus..” she began.

“Sounds good to me,” Jack interjected from the back.

“He’s a real criminal now,” he said, forestalling her complaint. “I _should_ just shoot him on sight. But I need him alive, so I won’t do any permanent damage. Just enough to loosen his tongue.”

“You don’t need to hurt him to get what you want,”Shepard insisted.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Jack asked.

“Don’t worry,” he said wryly. “Harkin’s a coward. He’ll talk long before I actually hurt him.”

Shepard turned her head away from him to stare out the window at the rushing scenery. They were flying over the Presidium now, the lush greenery and waterways still a stunning sight on a space station. The silence that stretched between them was fraught, though Jack didn’t seem to notice. She had her head pillowed on one arm, her feet pressed up against the window with her eyes half-closed. They passed over the embassies and headed into the wards again, nearing the factory district.

“You still planning to kill Sidonis when we find him?” Shepard asked, breaking the silence.

“That’s the plan,” he replied curtly, the bitterness inside him leeching into his voice. “It’ll be quick and painless. Unlike everyone he betrayed, he’ll be spared the agony of a slow death. It’s more than he deserves, but as long as he’s dead, I’ll be satisfied.”

“Will you?” she asked. “Garrus, do you really think killing Sidonis will make things right?”

Garrus shifted in his seat with agitation. “I know you don’t like it, Shepard, but I have to do this.”

“Is there no other way?” Shepard implored.

“Maybe, but this is personal.” Garrus said, and hesitated. The disappointment her heard in her voice cut like a knife. He had been stewing over Sidonis’ betrayal for months, going over the events over and over again. If there was another way, he couldn’t see it. Sidonis had to die. It was the only just solution. Garrus shrugged off Shepard’s reproach. “I’ll be the one to pull the trigger and I’ll live with the consequences.”

Garrus slowed the shuttle’s speed as they entered the factory district. The vehicles here were considerably larger and heavier than the transit shuttles and if there were a collision, their lighter vehicle wouldn’t fare well. He spotted the factory he was looking for and alighted. There were half a dozen people moving around the entrance of the building, most of them decked out in Blue Suns armor. They halted their activities when the shuttle landed. Garrus, Shepard and Jack clambered out of the shuttle with their weapons drawn and the Blue Suns closed ranks around the unarmored man in their midst. Garrus felt a grim satisfaction as he recognized the balding human.

Shepard did too, because she pointed him out in the crowd. “There he is!”

Harkin gaped at Shepard for a moment in amazement. “Shepard?” he asked. “You’re supposed to be dead!”

Shepard smiled grimly. “I get that a lot,” she drawled.

Harkin looked at the weapons they hadn’t holstered and started to back towards the door of the factory. “Don’t just stand there,” he ordered the mercenaries. “Stop them!”

Then he turned and ran, like the coward he was. Garrus swore as Harkin slammed the doors behind him and the Blue Suns rushed towards them.

“Run all you want, Harkin!” Garrus taunted. “We’ll find you!”

He and Shepard both ducked behind the stacks of crates between them and the Blue Suns, but Jack just sauntered into the open space, ignoring all the guns trained on her.

“Hello, dead people!” she said, entirely too cheerfully. She clenched her fists and began to glow with biotic power. She raised her arms and pushed them forward together, releasing a huge shockwave as she did. It closed the distance between her and the mercs with a shuddering roar and smashed into them, sending the lot arcing through the air. Followed by several of the large crates. The horrible screams of the mercenaries were cut short when the crates landed on top of them with sickening crunches. Garrus and Shepard looked at each other, momentarily at a loss, the fight unexpectedly over. Jack chuckled darkly and kicked one of the feet sticking out from under the debris on her way to the factory door.

Inside was a maze of equipment and shipping containers. Cranes zipped overhead along a track carrying large slabs of metal from one part of the fabrication plant to the other. Garrus crept through the factory wondering if there were any more mercenaries waiting for them.

“Harkin’s in here somewhere, I can smell him,” he said.

As if he’d heard them, Harkin’s voice came in over their comms, “Why don’t you just turn around?”

Garrus swiveled his head around looking for a clue as to where Harkin would be hiding. Shepard tapped his shoulder and pointed upward. At the far end of the factory on the second story he saw a room with glass windows overlooking the factory floor. He could just make out a shape of a man moving away from the window.

“You sure?” he asked Shepard.

She nodded. “Cerberus made some improvements when they rebuilt me.”

They must have improved her vision substantially if she could see that far away. He wondered how they’d done it, there were no visible changes to her eyes.

“Handy.”

Shepard shrugged a little self-consciously, then drew his attention to the approaches. “There’s two doors. I’ll take one, he’s bound to run to the other. You can cut him off. Jack, stay here and make sure any reinforcements he calls can’t come in.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jack gave Shepard a sarcastic salute.

Shepard and Garrus took a circuitous route in an attempt to keep Harkin with his bird’s eye view of the factory from tracking their approach. They ducked under welding equipment and squeezed through the narrow gaps between shipping containers to keep the view obstructed. They split up when they finally reached the bottom story of the room Harkin was holed up in. Garrus moved stealthily into position and pressed his ear to door, listening for Shepard. After several long moments he heard Shepard’s muffled voice from inside.

“Hey, Harkin..”

There was the sound of movement, then Harkin’s voice, growing louder as he moved toward Garrus’ hiding place. “You were close, but not close enough.”

Garrus held his breath and tensed. The door hissed open and he stepped into the threshold. Harkin reared back in surprise and Garrus punched him in the face. Harkin gasped and reeled but had no chance to recover before Garrus grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the nearest wall. Having Harkin writhe in his grasp was incredibly satisfying.

“So, Fade,” he gloated. “Couldn’t make yourself disappear, huh?”

“C’mon, Garrus,” Harkin choked. “We can work this out. Whaddya need?”

Garrus leaned his face close to Harkin’s. “I’m looking for someone.”

A smarmy smile spread across Harkin’s face. “Well,” he said, “I guess we both have something the other one wants.”

Garrus kicked him in the groin just to wipe that expression off his face. He loomed over Harkin as he collapsed to the floor in pain. He looked up and saw Shepard holster her weapon and frown at him, a subtle warning to watch himself. He lifted Harkin back to his feet and though the man remained doubled over and breathless with residual pain, he managed to stay on them.

“We’re not here to ask favors, Harkin,” Shepard said in a hard voice, playing along with his tactics.

“You don’t say,” Harkin coughed.

Garrus leaned in close. “You helped a friend of mine disappear. I need to find him.”

Harkin rubbed the back of his head where it had struck the wall. “I might need a little more information than that,” he complained.

“His name was Sidonis. Turian, came from the..”

“I know who he is,” Harkin interrupted irritably. He stood up straighter and folded his arms. “I’m not telling you squat.”

Garrus tensed, angry at his newfound spine. He started to move his arm to hit him when Shepard spoke, “Harkin, this doesn’t have to be hard.”

Her voice was bored but Garrus was pretty sure she was just trying to forestall any more violence. Garrus grew more irritated, they weren’t going to get anywhere coddling Harkin.

A conclusion which was bourne out when Harkin snarked back at her, “Screw you. I don’t give out client information, it’s bad for business.”

Garrus kicked Harkin viciously in the abdomen and he fell to the ground. Shepard glared at him but he wasn’t going to let Harkin jerk him around on this. Garrus kicked him again to roll him onto his back, and put his foot on his throat. He applied just enough pressure to let Harkin know he was serious, but not enough to keep him from speaking. Shepard was wrong if she thought he was out of control. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“You know what else is bad for business?” Garrus asked, letting just a little more of his weight settle onto the foot he was grinding into Harkin’s throat. Harkin emitted a strangled sound. “A broken neck!”

Harkin wrapped his hands around Garrus’ leg and strained beneath him, trying to throw him off. He had no leverage so his efforts were pathetic and ineffectual. He finally gave in and managed to rasp out, “Alright, alright! Get off me!”

Watching Harkin squirm was too enjoyable. He had earned a little punishment for his earlier defiance, for his entire criminal enterprise. Garrus added just a bit more weight to Harkin’s throat and watched his face turn red. He gurgled in terror and renewed his struggles to free himself, a little more weakly this time. Garrus felt a jerk on his elbow and he turned to see Shepard’s face close to his, set into a severe expression. They locked eyes for a long moment while he kept his foot on Harkin and she kept her grip on his elbow. Whose side was she on anyways?

“Garrus..” She breathed his name so quietly only he would hear it, but the urgency in her voice was clearly audible. His head cleared just enough that he could see not just her anger but her fear. Was she afraid for him or was she afraid _of_ him? Either scenario was unpalatable, so he forced himself to relent, to take his foot off Harkin. Harkin immediately rolled onto his hands and knees, sputtering and sucking in air noisily. Shepard released her grip on Garrus silently and stepped away.

“Terminus really changed you, huh, Garrus?” Harkin grated.

Garrus shook his head. “No, but Sidonis.. opened my eyes.” He jerked his head towards the comm terminal on the other side of the room. “Now arrange a meeting.”

Harkin hesitated, Garrus gestured again more insistently.

“I’m going,” Harkin sighed.

Harkin shuffled to the terminal and tapped a sequence of keys. He waited, eying Garrus nervously as he waited for the call to connect. Garrus leaned his back against the wall, feigning a casual pose. His temper was just barely leashed, but he didn’t want to spook Harkin any further and encourage him to try something stupid. Shepard took up position next to him and pressed her shoulder against his. He sidled away.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Harkin said. Garrus glanced at the terminal screen but there was no image on it, and the voice that emerged was too scrambled to understand. “Fade” was smart enough to have encryption protocols that would obscure any communication to or from his terminals to prevent eavesdropping. He probably had a decryption protocol built into his translator.

“There’s a chance your identity may be compromised,” he said and paused, listening to the reply. “That’s why I’m calling. I’m sending an agent. Where do you want to meet?” There was another pause while the person on the other end replied. Garrus tapped his foot anxiously and pushed himself off the wall. It was possible Harkin was sending him right into an ambush, but they’d know soon enough.

“Alright, he’ll be there. Don’t worry — I got it covered.” Harkin terminated the call and turned back to Garrus, who moved towards him while he said, “It’s all good. He wants to meet you out in front of Orbital Lounge. Middle of the day. So if our business is done, I’ll be going..”

Garrus grabbed him by his shirt before he finished speaking and dragged him close. “I don’t think so,” Garrus growled. “You’re a criminal now, Harkin.”

Harkin flinched. “So what? You’re just going to kill me?” he asked. “That’s not your style, Garrus.”

Garrus let him go with a little shove. “Kill you? No.” Garrus pulled a gun out of its holster. “But I don’t mind slowing you down a little.”

The barrel of the gun tracked down as Garrus aimed it at Harkin’s knee. Shepard lunged towards him and grabbed his arm, twisting it in time so that the bullet embedded itself in the ceiling instead of Harkin’s extremity.

“You don’t need to shoot him. He won’t be able to hide from C-Sec now,” she said.

Garrus shook his arm free roughly and glared at Shepard for several long breaths. She just returned his gaze levelly, her expression closed and unmoveable. It was the way she looked at people who were about to become obstacles. He resented her for how much it stung. But he took a step back and holstered his weapon.

“I guess it’s your lucky day,” he sneered at Harkin.

Harkin wiped the blood trickling from a cut over his eyebrow and spat, “Yeah, I hope we can do this again real soon.”

Shepard pursed her lips, giving Harkin the same disgusted expression she would a bug, then she made a conspicuous show of turning on her heel and walking out the door. Garrus watched her walk away for a second, then he smashed his head hard into Harkin’s smug face. The man collapsed like a sack of rocks and didn’t stir as he left.

Garrus had to jog a few steps to catch up with Shepard. When he did she, raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“I didn’t shoot him,” he said, a little petulantly. He knew it had been childish, but it had felt really good.

Shepard just shook her head. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s move.”

“Sidonis better be there,” he warned her as they neared the entrance of the factory. “Or I’m coming back to finish the job.”

They stopped, a little stunned when they saw the carnage Jack had wrought in their absence. Evidently Harkin had called for back up, based on the additional bodies in Blue Suns uniforms that littered the street, along with the still-sparking debris of some LOKI mechs.

“Anything interesting happen here?” Shepard asked.

“Nah,” Jack replied insouciantly. “What about you guys?”

Shepard shrugged and looked at Garrus meaningfully. “Nothing worth talking about. Can I trust you to make it back to the Normandy without destroying half of the Citadel?”

Jack looked hurt. “Who, me?”

“Go right back to the ship, no detours, you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Commander.”

 

* * *

 

Garrus and Shepard retrieved the shuttle and took off again. The Orbital Lounge was in a different ward, but it wasn’t a long trip. Garrus stewed in his agitation as Shepard piloted the craft, mulling over the encounter with Harkin. He may have gotten the information he needed but it had left a sour taste in his mouth. Maybe Shepard was right and C-Sec would pick him up, but it felt wrong just leaving him when they could’ve done more.

They reached the designated meeting spot about twenty minutes before they were due to meet Sidonis. Shepard landed the craft on the upper catwalks, a little way away from the entrance of the lounge. She leaned back in her seat and let out a breath, just waiting. Neither of them were the type to fill empty silence with small talk, but the wait wasn’t a comfortable one. Garrus cast several sidelong glances at her, each more irritable than the last. Shepard wasn’t squeamish, he couldn’t figure out why she’d been so easy on Harkin.

“Harkin’s a bloody menace,” Garrus burst out, unable to suppress his anger any longer. “We shouldn’t have let him go, he deserved to be punished.”

Shepard frowned. “I’m getting a little worried about you, Garrus,” she said. “You were pretty hard on Harkin. I expected you to play bad cop, but at the end there, you weren’t playing. I can’t believe you were going to _shoot_ him.”

“You don’t think he deserved it?”

Shepard glanced away from him then back. “It’s just not like you,” she said quietly.

“What do you want from me, Shepard?” he asked. He could hear the reproach in her voice and he didn’t like it. “What would you do if someone betrayed you?”

“I’m not sure,” she said with a shrug. “But I wouldn’t let it change me.”

“I would’ve said the same thing before it happened to me.”

“It’s not too late,” she offered. “You don’t have to go through with this.”

“Who’s going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don’t? Nobody else knows what he’s done. Nobody else _cares_.”

Why didn’t she understand? He had always backed her up, no matter what, but she was balking now. He shook his head. “I don’t see any other options.”

“Let me talk to him,” she insisted.

Garrus leaned back in his seat and stared at the roof of the shuttle, tired of arguing with her. “Talk all you want, but it won’t change my mind. I don’t care what his reasons were, he screwed us..” Garrus clenched his fist. “He deserves to die.”

Shepard reached out to touch his hand but he shifted it away. Her mouth thinned. “I understand what you’re going through,” she said. “But do you really want to kill him?”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not you,” he said shortly.

“This isn’t _you_ , either,” she replied fiercely.

“Really?” Garrus was incredulous. “I’ve always hated injustice. You helped me when I wanted to track down Saleon, bring him to justice.”

“That’s right, and if he hadn’t forced the issue, we would have _brought him in_ ,” she said. “No one is forcing us to kill Sidonis. We could arrest him too.”

Garrus shook his head violently. “He never pulled a trigger, he never broke any laws. But _he’s responsible_. The thought that Sidonis could get away with this..” Garrus growled deep in his throat. “Why should he go on living when ten good men lie in unmarked graves?”

Shepard opened her mouth to protest but Garrus cut her off, “I’m sorry, Shepard. Words aren’t going to solve this problem.” He opened the shuttle door and began to climb out. “I need to set up,” he said, then stopped when she grabbed his arm.

“What do you need me to do?” she asked.

“You’re going to help?”

“We’re a team, Garrus.”

Garrus blew out a long breath, some of the anger leaving him. “Keep him talking and don’t get in my way,” he warned.

He looked around at the area, assessing its suitability for his purpose. The corridor below was brightly lit and crawling with people. Even this far above he was too exposed, all someone had to do was look up and they’d spot him. Then he noticed a narrow walkway that jogged off to the side, around some pipes and over to a maintenance duct. It was away from the lights of the corridor, just dim enough so he would be less visible, but still in sight of the meeting place.

“I can get a clear shot from over there,” he said, pointing to indicate the position. “I’ll let you know when he’s in my sights. Give me a signal so I know you’re ready, and I’ll take the shot.” Garrus checked the time and climbed out of the shuttle. “You better go, he’ll be here soon,” he said and shut the door. He stood and watched Shepard fly the shuttle down to the lower level before making his way over to his chosen sniper perch.

Garrus braced his rifle against the railing, extended the barrel, and settled in to wait. Through the scope he observed the scene below, the details on every person’s face brought into sharp focus by the optics. But the digital reticle overlay displaying the crosshair, distance to target and other relevant information tended to make whatever he was viewing more abstract. He watched Shepard disembark the shuttle and stride with her distinctive gait towards the bustling entrance to the Orbital Lounge.

“Shepard,” he asked over the comms, “Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” she said under her breath, looking around casually

He tracked away from Shepard and scanned the corridor, looking for Sidonis. Male human walking away: 20 meters; a pair of asari standing and talking: 30 meters; male turian seated, hunched over: 40 meters.. His hands clenched hard around the grips of his weapon. That was Sidonis. He felt a rush at seeing him for the first time since Omega. From this angle he was partially obscured by the chatting asari and there were a number of other people walking around behind him. He could probably make the shot, but if he didn’t want to accidentally hit any bystanders then he needed Sidonis to move.

“All right. There he is,” Garrus radioed to Shepard. “Wave him over and keep him talking.”

Shepard beckoned to Sidonis from a less congested part of the corridor. Sidonis looked around nervously before getting to his feet to approach her. Garrus switched the optics into a higher resolution setting. He could see the nervous expression on Sidonis’ face clearly now. But then Shepard stepped closer to Sidonis and all he could see was the back of her head.

“You’re in my shot. Move to the side,” he instructed.

“Listen, Sidonis. I’m here to help you,” she said. Sidonis flinched at the mention of his own name.

“Don’t ever say that name aloud,” he said apprehensively.

“I’m a friend of Garrus’,” she said. “He wants you dead, but I’m hoping that’s not necessary.”

Garrus hissed, hoping she wasn’t about to do what he thought she was, that this was just the angle she’d decided to use to get his attention. Sidonis startled and shifted nervously from side to side. Shepard mimicked his motion, keeping herself solidly between Sidonis and the muzzle of his gun.

“Garrus?” Sidonis asked. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Garrus couldn’t believe it. She was _trying_ to screw this up, screw him over.

“Dammit, Shepard!” he snarled. “If he moves, I’m taking the shot.”

Garrus saw Shepard shift her head slightly in response to his voice. Sidonis noticed it too and must have realized what that gesture meant, because he started slowly backing away from her.

“You’re not kidding, are you?” he asked with dawning horror. “Screw this, I’m not sticking around to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems.”

Sidonis tried to turn and walk away. Just a few more steps and he would have a clear shot. Garrus held his breath and gently squeezed the trigger in preparation. Just a few more steps and this would be over.

Shepard lunged towards Sidonis and hauled him back towards her. “Don’t move!” she hissed.”

Sidonis tried desperately to shake off Shepard’s grip, his voice rising in panic, “Get off me!”

“I am the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head.”

“Fuck,” Sidonis cursed, looking around wildly in panic. He knew Garrus’ tactics well enough to know he probably didn’t have a way out anymore.

“Look,” he pleaded. “I didn’t want to do it. I had no choice.”

Garrus growled, “Everyone has a choice.”

“They got to me,” Sidonis said in a terrified rush, oblivious to Garrus’ remark. “Said they’d kill me if I didn’t help. What was I supposed to do?”

“Let me take the shot, Shepard, he’s a damn coward!”

Shepard wasn’t budging. “That’s it? You were just trying to save yourself?” she asked, trying to coax more of the story out of him. As if there were any excuse he could offer to justify himself.

All the fight seemed to go out of Sidonis and he hung his head. “I know what I did,” he said mournfully. “I know they died because of me and I have to live with that. I wake up every night sick and sweating. Each of their faces staring at me.. Accusing me.”

The words rolled over Garrus and incited a series of conflicting emotions: satisfaction that someone who’d wronged him was suffering; grief for dead; and curiously, a slight pang of sympathy. He had the same dreams. They’d driven him to this. He tried to shake off the stew of emotions, they weren’t part of his mission.

“I’m already a dead man,” Sidonis continued. “I don’t sleep. Food has no taste. Some days I just want it to be over.”

“Just give me the chance,” he promised.

Shepard turned and looked up to where she knew Garrus was holed up. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he could see her. “You’ve gotta let it go, Garrus,” she said, addressing him directly. “He’s already paying for his crime.”

“He hasn’t paid enough,” he countered. “He still has his life. My men.. They deserved better.”

He couldn’t let this go, he _wouldn’t_ let him walk away. As long as he lived, Sidonis would be a loose end. As long as he lived, Garrus would also be haunted by the accusing looks of his dead, demanding justice.

“Tell Garrus,” Sidonis started, then stopped and shook his head, heaving a resigned sigh.”I guess there’s nothing I can say to make it right.”

“Look at him, Garrus,” she entreated, gesturing to Sidonis. “He’s not alive.. There’s nothing left to kill.”

He stared down at Shepard, the distance and the scope of his gun between them. The targeting overlay washed out the colors of her face, robbing it of some small measure of familiarity. His rage beat in his ears with the rhythm of his heartbeat, crowded his thoughts, forcing away everything except the urge to commit violence. The crosshair was centered on her head, 33 meters displayed beneath it.

_One bullet would take them both out._

The ugly, unwelcome thought was so fleeting, but it rocked him back on his heels. Cold terror washed through him at the thought of her death, it quenched the rage boiling inside and left him feeling hollow.

After a long moment of radio silence, Shepard took one step to the side, giving him a clear shot, letting him make the choice. Sidonis didn’t even flinch, he just stood there, limp and defeated, waiting for Garrus to end it.

Was killing Sidonis really justice? Or was he just trying to salve his own guilt? That hollow pit inside him was quickly filling up with shame. This wasn’t him. Garrus lowered his rifle with shaking hands.

“Just.. Go,” he said haltingly. “Tell him to go.”

“He’s giving you a second chance, Sidonis,” Shepard said. “Don’t waste it.”

“I’ll try, Garrus. I’ll try to make it up to you somehow,” Sidonis promised fervently, his voice raised as he tried to speak to Garrus, wherever he was. Then he turned to Shepard. “Thank you for talking to him.”

Garrus watched them part and move away from each other. He kept watching until Sidonis melted into the crowd, likely never to be seen again. Was he disappointed or relieved? He’d spent so much time planning to kill Sidonis, but when he’d had the chance he just let him walk away. Had he chosen to do the right thing, or had he simply lacked the spine to follow through?

When Shepard returned with the shuttle, he couldn’t quite bring himself to look at her. He broke down his sniper rifle mechanically, his limbs feeling leaden and slow. His emotions were a disquiet jumble. He could practically hear the question Shepard wasn’t asking him. She just waited for him to finish with uncharacteristic patience, but he had no words to offer her. He was still shaken by the lengths his anger had nearly driven him to. But he harbored an ember of resentment for her interference. She hadn’t helped him she’d promised. It felt like another betrayal.

“I know you want to talk about this,” he finally said. “But I don’t. Not yet. Let’s get going. I need some distance from this place.”

She nodded slowly and replied, “I’m with you.”

“Are you?” He looked at her sharply, unable to resist lobbing the barb. He climbed into the shuttle and got behind the controls. She quickly climbed in after him.

“Always, Garrus,”

He studied her face for a moment. She didn’t seem repentant in the slightest, but there was no smugness or superiority in her expression either. He lifted off and flew them back to the Normandy’s berth. He really didn’t want to talk to her yet, he hadn’t sorted everything out yet. But the words were piling up in the silence between them, threatening to escape.

“You said you were going to help,” he finally said. “You said, we were a team.”

“I did help. I helped you avoid doing something you’d regret later.”

“That wasn’t your call, Shepard,” he fired back. “It was my decision.”

“Look, I know it didn’t go the way you planned, but I think it’s for the best.”

He snorted with annoyance. Sometimes her moral superiority was really grating. He shook his head and said, “I’m not so sure.”

“Give it time,” she promised.

“Yeah,” he said bitterly, not really believing her. “Maybe that’ll be enough.”

 

* * *

 

Garrus brooded silently the whole way back to the Normandy. Shepard kept glancing at him sidelong from her seat in the shuttle, but she didn’t intrude on his black mood. They walked side by side through the jostling crowd at the docking bay, their thoughts their own. The silence between them grew steadily more oppressive the longer it went on. By the time they reached the Normandy’s berth it was almost excruciating. Shepard keyed in the re-boarding sequence a little too forcefully and Garrus fidgeted restlessly as the decontamination sequence began. He just wanted this over with.

“Standby, shore party. Decontamination procedure in progress,” EDI’s voice said.

They waited while the decontamination field washed over them. Was it taking longer than normal? It felt like it was going on forever. Why did they have to go through this at the Citadel anyways? The environmental systems were even more robust than those on the Normandy. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a distortion in the air. He turned his head and blinked, the image quickly disappearing.

“Shepard, there is an anomalous reading in the decontamination field. Compensating.”

Garrus and Shepard exchanged a glance and started to draw their weapons when suddenly there was a burst of light and Kasumi materialized behind them.

“Oops,” Kasumi said.

Shepard took her hand off her pistol and scowled mightily at the woman. “What the hell, Kasumi?” she asked.

“Hey, Shep,” she said with a guilty little wave, but she quickly brightened. “Wow, your VI is really good, I can usually fool most systems. Think I could get a look at it later?”

Shepard folded her arms. “Not until we have a talk about when and where it is appropriate to sneak around. You were just going to board the ship without telling me?”

“Force of habit. I always check out security first.” Kasumi shrugged without a trace of contrition. “Think of it like I’m doing you a favor, looking for holes in your security. Yours seems top-notch, Cerberus must be pretty paranoid.”

“I would appreciate your assessment, Ms. Goto. Please inform me if you find any vulnerabilities to exploit.” EDI said and Kasumi startled.

“What the..?”

Shepard’s lips twitched in amusement. “EDI takes her duties very seriously.”

“An AI! You have an AI?” Kasumi tapped the tips of her fingers together in a gesture of predatory delight. “Oh, this _will_ be a challenge.”

“No tinkering with EDI, Kasumi,” Shepard warned.

Kasumi waved a hand. “No, of course not. That would be cheating. Where’s the fun in that?”

“Decontamination complete,” EDI informed them and the door hissed open. Kasumi bounded aboard, a noticeable spring in her step. Shepard sighed and smiled ruefully at Garrus and he chuckled softly for a moment, but the moment of levity died quickly. Shepard noticed his change of mood and the smile fell from her face.

“Are we going to be okay, Garrus?”

“Sure,” he replied, but he couldn’t quite meet her eyes as he said it and she frowned. He left her standing outside the airlock, staring after him with an unreadable expression.

 

 


End file.
